Just Tell Me No
by RockerLover
Summary: Peace is restored but it comes at a great price. Rather than move on, Sakura flounders in self pity. But what happens when her teammates find out? What will they do and how will she feel about it?
1. First

Hey there readers. This is the start of my second fanfic (yay). I have yet to actually complete the first one for which I am terribly sorry. The ending has been a source of endless hours of hair pulling. I want to make sure it feels right to me and so far it hasn't. But don't despair, I am still working on it! Hopefully, it will be completed soon.

Now, on with the show. This one will hopefully be just as good and have a bit more humor. =]

* * *

><p>"<em>I don't think we are ready for this!" <em>

_A hand landed on her shoulder and gave a reassuring squeeze. "No matter what goes down today, I know that we are gunna win this fair and square. You can count on me!"_

_She turned back and wearily eyed the tall men behind her. He was the epitome of sunshine. She couldn't help but give a small smile in return._

"_I hope you're right about this one," she grumbled, turning back around to face the open field. _

"_Trust me, ne Sakuraaaaaa-channn? I will keep this village and you safe no matter what!" He boasted as he jabbed a thumb into his chest and gave her his usual goofy grin._

_She caught the gesture out of the corner of her eye and felt warmed by it. Suddenly, it seemed like things might take a turn for the better. Maybe they would make it out of this war alive. _

Slipping between the alleyways made it easier to get home unnoticed which was exactly what she was hoping for.

Dodging rain was much less important than dodging people. Getting soaked mattered so little in comparison to having to see the disappointment, thinly veiled, in everyone's eyes. They tried not to show it but it was so hard to deny; she had let everyone down.

_How could she not have saved him? _

It was as if everyone thought she didn't ask herself that question every day. Didn't they all know that she would gladly switch places with him. Even now, she was willing to give up her life so that he could live to fight another day.

It was him that should be here in Konoha, not her. She knew it and so did everyone else.

But, while they all wanted their hero back, she wanted her friend. It was him that would have told her to cheer. He would've picked her up despite her protests and spun her around in a big bear hug; he would have been the one to make her smile even as she cried, a talent that only he seemed to possess.

Sakura stopped for a moment at the bottom of the first flight of steps that led to her place.

She had always loved the rain. Even as a child she would sneak out of her family's house to frolic in the downpour. She would always end up sick with a fever but it was worth it for those moments of pure bliss.

Rain was a piece of heaven falling down on her; it always had been.

Letting her head tip back, Sakura closed her eyes as rain kissed her lids, her cheeks, her lips and her disproportionate forehead.

After a moment she righted herself and began to ascend. She didn't feel any cleaner than before. Rain was just water falling from above; there was no heaven.

Sakura slipped inside her apartment and sucked off the shoes, not caring how they bounced off the wall and left scuff marks. She continued through the living room and peeled off her clothing as it stuck like a second skin. Her shirt came off first, followed by bindings, her medical belt and her shorts.

Sakura let them fall on the floor, not bothering to take into account where anything landed. It didn't really matter in the end.

She lived alone. There was no parent to scold her, no roommate to complain she was a pig. It was just her and her storm cloud of misery, forever raining on her parade.

She made her way into her bedroom almost naked and stood in the center for a moment, listening to the rain on the roof.

Her hand shot out as she turned on the light and shuffled over to the closet.

Clothing hung off of every available surface, chairs, the dresser and lamps alike. She had been meaning to clean up the place for weeks but never seemed to get around to it.

At least she could safely say that all food containers were only in the kitchen/ makeshift dining room. She prided herself for this fact as it meant she wasn't quite as bad as a bachelor, unlike Kakashi. Not that she had ever seen the inside of his apartment since the rebuilding.

Carelessly tying her hair up into a messy bun, Sakura pulled on an oversized t-shirt and flicked off the light. There wasn't anything worth seeing and the light would have given away that someone was home.

She made her way into the tiny living room to which her bedroom was connected and plopped down on the threadbare couch.

Her legs splayed out haphazardly. One arm dangled off the edge at an awkward angle, letting her knuckles brush the floor. The other was slung across her face, blocking out what little light there was at night as it filtered in through her blinds.

She wondered, not for the first time, why she had moved into his apartment after he died.

It was probably equal parts comfort and torture. Living where he once did was the closest she could come to feeling him near. At the same time, roaming the halls he once resided in was a constant reminder of what she had lost, what everyone had lost.

_All because of her. _

It was a nagging voice, always in her ear, reminding her that the losses she had sustained were her own doing. Despite what everyone had tried to tell her, she knew that they only said it out of pity for her sorry state. They didn't want her to blame herself even though deep down they all did.

How could not they not? She was the one who had carried his limp body through the streets on Konoha and to the Hokage tower.

_Damn them all to hell and back again._

None of _them_ knew how badly she ached. He had been a precious piece of her soul; one that could never be replaced. He died in her arms with a smile on his face, knowing that he had won the war, that the fighting was over, that peace had been reclaimed.

He died regardless of how much chakra she pumped into him because he stopped fighting to live. In this classic case of mind over matter, the mind had given up and so the matter didn't, well, matter.

It wasn't a defeat on his part, not by a long shot. He simply felt he had done what was needed and it was his time. Unfortunately, he had been wrong.

The sorrow left in his wake was a gaping hole in the Hidden Leaf. Every ninja felt it, some more than others.

The Rookie 9 was in shambles. Having already lost Shino and Ino in the endless violence, his death was the final blow.

Yes, the war was over and yes, the rebuilding was complete and life was back on track. But Sakura was stuck in the past and couldn't manage to find the willpower to lift herself out of it. She had lost her two closest friends. No one could ever come close to replacing them in her mind, not that anyone had even tried.

The _what if's_ never stopped. Sometimes she could hold them at bay and plaster a smile on her face. Other days, like today, it took all her strength not to fracture into a million indiscernible pieces.

On days like this, where it felt like the whole world was closing in on her, she hid away in his place, on his couch and wished for a better life. A life where no one knew her mistakes. A world where Naruto was still alive.

Sakura curled up, bringing her knees to her chest and hooking her chin over them. Her arms came up to cradle her shins as she slowly rocked herself to sleep.

It was an odd thing, rocking oneself to sleep but Sakura had grown quite accustomed to being her only source of comfort.

* * *

><p>Kakashi nursed his sake quietly at the far end of the table while the rest of group was having a grand old time parading around the bar and roughhousing in a drunken stupor.<p>

It wasn't that Kakashi minded. In fact, he would be more than happy to join them. The simple fact of the matter was that no matter how much he drank, he would never be able to reach their level of intoxication.

Sakura had once mentioned that it had to do with his regenerative process. His extremely fast healing rate went hand-in-hand with his metabolism. She had basically told him that the closest he would get to tipsy was alcohol poisoning, the one thing he apparently wasn't impervious to.

So rather than ending up hospitalized with a dying liver, he chose to stay out of the way and quietly enjoy the fact that he wasn't alone. He still had his friends. Even if they all weren't particularly close, they had a bond that was thicker than blood.

Their numbers had decreased over the years. Asuma had been the first. Aoba, Izumo, Ebisu and Shikaku to just name a few, had followed after.

The loss of every ninja reverberated through each and every living member but those that fell were not mourned in their deaths but celebrated for their lives.

Oh yea, everything was celebrated in Konoha now.

The fact that it still existed and that it had been rebuilt to all its former glory and beyond was a good enough reason. There was also the fact that the greatest threat every faced had been neutralized and that all the nations were now at peace. All-in-all it was a victory for Konoha and its people.

Kakashi looked down at his barely touched drink and sighed. There were so many things to be happy for and yet he couldn't find it in himself to even crack a smile.

The sacrifice had been high, just as it was before.

The first war he fought in had cost him his entire team and family. After it had ended, he'd made a promise to never get that close to anyone again. It was a promise he had miserably failed at keeping.

This second war had cost him two students, one AWOL and the other the hero of the village. Both had far exceeded what he had ever thought possible and both died at the hands of each other.

No death would have been more fitting for the pair, or more tragic.

What was left of his team was fractured beyond repair. Only he and the pinkette were from the original Team 7 but its other two members still felt the sting.

They were a group that could barely look at each other without being thrown into a nostalgic fit of despair.

Sakura, namely, was the one who did it for him.

Every time he was forced to look into those jade pools it was like staring into a dying doe's eyes. Her pain was so present and her gaze so alluring that he was always drawn in and forced to feel as she did.

He saw her jaded eyes, devoid of their innocence and immediately wanted to go back to the times where she was a whiney brat, Sasuke was a miserable prepubescent bad boy and Naruto was an obnoxious loudmouth filled with good intentions and a lack of wherewithal.

But that was gone. The past was just that, the past. No amount of wishing or hoping would restore his team and take away the pain.

Kami, he wished he could forget them, push them back into the dark recesses of his mind where he kept all of his pain. It was the place he held the memories of his father, his mentor, his first team.

Kakashi downed the alcohol in one chug and got up to get another from the barkeep. He didn't want to feel anymore.

Maybe it didn't matter if he couldn't get drunk; he could still pretend he was.

_A trick of the mind as it were. _

* * *

><p>Sai sat on the western wall of Konoha under the cover of an immense tree. It was his usual perch on warm summer nights.<p>

He had a tendency to watch people walk by and draw them in their intimate moments when they thought they were truly alone.

Sakura had once accused him of being a "pepping tom" but since he had no idea what it meant, he brushed it off as another one of the irrelevant things she usually shouted at him.

He was simply on a mission to catch a glimpse into the real life of average human beings and then capture it on paper. He didn't see the harm in being curious about the inner workings of the lesser folk.

A couple stopped a few feet to his left. The man took the woman's hands in his own and gently steered her back into the wall. She willingly obliged and soon their bodies melded together against the stone.

Sai began to sketch. His hand moved methodically over the paper. He didn't hurry even though the couple could shift positions at any moment or simply walk away. Art was not something that should be rushed.

As the fates would have it, the couple stayed as they were far longer than needed for Sai to complete his drawing.

He gave the sketch a once over before he flipped the page back and sighed.

Another drawing of another couple that held no artistic value. Sure he had captured them as they truly were, held forever in a suspended moment of time and so on and so forth. It hardly mattered; there was no life, no reality to it.

Sai set his charcoal and pad down beside him and for the first time ever turned to look outwards rather than in.

There was a soft breeze and the sounds of the forest beyond Konoha's borders were calling to him.

Sai tucked his art supplies into the folds of his clothing, storing it in some hidden compartment that only he knew about. Sakura had accused him of "cheating" when he did so in front of her. He hardly saw how that was the case as they hadn't been competing in anything.

His first thought was the jump into the unknown darkness beyond but he held back at the last second.

After a moment's thought, Sai turned back around and effortlessly flung himself off the edge of the wall, into the calm village.

Almost everyone was asleep or on his or her way home. This time of the night used to bring him peace. It was one of the few quiet points in his otherwise tumultuous life but lately he dreaded seeing the sun set.

Sai was not one for emotional bonds but even he could recognize that the issue stemmed from the lack of the Dickless Wonder to which he had developed a certain level of kinship.

Yes, kinship. That was the word used in "Making Friends, Volume IV".

Naruto's loud, boisterous nature had always been something he needed a break from. He only found it when the blonde was asleep. Now, without him there during the daylight, the silence that ensued afterhours was deafening.

Sai eventually touched down on a shop's balcony and slipped underneath the awning there. He sat down cross-legged and took out his supplies. He hadn't paid too much attention to where he touched down but after taking in his surroundings, he allowed himself a lopsided, awkward albeit genuine smile. It was odd how his body instinctively went here when his mind was occupied.

Across the way from him was an image worth drawing. Though it was hard to make out in the darkness the moon provided just enough light through the shades behind the image he planned to capture.

As singular lines met and formed shapes, blocks made way to shading and blended into an intricate pattern on the page, Sai hummed contently.

Humming had originally seemed odd to him. The idea of using ones vocal chords to illustrate a tune without actually singing was peculiar. But after giving it a try, he found that he quite enjoyed the rumbling sensation it created in his chest.

He had no songs to hum and his imagination was lacking in terms of melody so he hummed single notes.

Sakura had once told him that it sounded like he was meditating. Although he disagreed with her, since people do not hum when they meditate, he understood where she was coming from. He therefore refrained from doing it in her company as it seemed to irk her. The kind of irk that got him sent through a wall, that is.

But, alone on the rooftop, there was no one to bother him about it.

Sai set down his pad on his bent knees and tapped his forefinger against the edge of the page.

For the first time in a while he didn't feel the urge to flip the page and try again. It was soft and hazy. The body wasn't definitive or perfect. The face was distorted by the hand covering it and there were parts totally obstructed by the lack of light. Overall, the page was mostly black as were his hands from smudging. The body seemed to be floating in the blackness making the specimen appear more like a spirit than flesh and blood.

A soundly sleeping Sakura.

Sai looked up and sighed. Sakura was staying in Naruto's apartment. Nothing in his books of human behavior gave him an answer for this situation.

He doubted he should mention it to her but he didn't want to be purposefully deceitful. He was fairly sure that staying in a dead friend's apartment shortly after their untimely demise was not a proper way to handle grief. Maybe if he – Another chakra signature cut his thoughts short. Sai let his chin fall into his upturned palm as he propped his elbow up on his knee.

He certainly hadn't expected their white-haired leader to show up.

* * *

><p>Kakashi waved his goodbyes in his usual nonchalant manner before leaving the "party" and beginning his journey home.<p>

He walked aimlessly through the streets. He was fairly certain his feet knew the way back to his apartment even if his mind was wandering off to distant locations.

Kakashi passed by the complex Naruto used to live in, as he always did on his way home. The place seemed so solemn now. Though the building was still inhabited by other tenants, it didn't seem to radiant exuberance anymore despite its bright coloring.

His eyes unconsciously darted over to _the_ apartment. He looked first at the faded red door and then over at the only east facing window. It was open.

A part of him, the wiser part in his opinion, said to just ignore it. No one lived there now so it didn't matter if it got wet tonight from the constant downpour. But the part of him who had loved his student as he had loved them all, simply wouldn't allow it.

He slowly made his way up multiple flights of stairs until he stood before the apartment. Once again, the more self-serving part of him said to book it while he had the chance but he squashed it down. He moved over to face the wide-open window and drew in a deep breath. His hands hooked up on the inside and gripped the ledge.

One smooth tug and lightening fast reflexes would have it firmly shut with no one the wiser that he had been there.

The tips of his fingers were poised, ready to swiftly dispatch his commands when he froze, sensing a chakra signal from within.

For a moment his heart sped up at the familiarity of it.

_Could it be..? No…_

It wasn't Naruto. It was… He stood there for a long, long moment puzzled.

_What in Kami's name was Sakura doing in here? _

Rather than closing the window, as was his initial plan, Kakashi opened it further and stuck his head through.

The scents that greeted his nose were a combination of strawberries and rotten milk. It was not a pleasant conglomeration for his rather sensitive appendage.

He shook his head slightly and took a moment to decipher that they were, luckily, not coming from the same location.

The uniquely strawberry scent was from the living room, presumably where Sakura was lying, while the rotten milk was only a few feet ahead of him somewhere in the kitchen.

Kakashi slipped through the window with ease and landed soundlessly on the hideous orange tile floor.

He slowly made his way over to the fridge and opened it carefully. The light flickered on, dimly illuminating the otherwise dark room.

A quick glance around told him nothing had changed. The walls were still a vomit worthy green that clashed with the equally nauseating orange floor. The cabinets were a dirty white turned brown while the counters faded and chipped.

Ducking his head down into the refrigerator, he found what he would have expected in Naruto's apartment. Quite a few take out dishes were scattered on the shelves and upon opening one, Kakashi decided that they all were science experiments rather than food.

He threw everything in the refrigerator out, careful not to touch any of the contents within. Who knew what new disease was being cultivated in the refrigerator. Maybe Sakura had decided to take her work home with her? He was aware that she had taken an interest in poisons.

When the fridge was cleared out, Kakashi straightened up and let the door shut with a soft click.

The only source of light was now gone but Kakashi was a ninja and therefore didn't need light to make his way around. At least, that was what he thought until the front of his sandal caught the edge of a haphazardly placed floor mat.

_Who in Kami's name put a random floor mat in the middle of their kitchen? _

He quickly steadied himself and muttered a string of curses under his breath. He was the aloof Copy Ninja; he didn't trip over carpeting.

With a sigh he adjusted his hitai-ate, glad that no one was there to see his minor mishap. Or rather, no one he was aware of. Sai was still across the way watching him intently, not that Kakashi knew it.

Kakashi continued on his venture to the other side of the rather cramped kitchen and picked up a milk container left out on its side. He already knew something was wrong by the fast that an open milk container wasn't spilled all over the counter.

As a general rule of thumb, Kakashi knew that milk left out was never good. This milk, however, was past the point of not good. Not only was it sour from being left out for Kami knows how long, but upon further inspection Kakashi found that it had expired over a month prior.

It wasn't even milk at this point.

_Far closer to some form a cheese._

"Lovely," Kakashi scrunched up his nose in distaste as he deposited the carton into the half full garbage bag.

After a few more minutes of searching, Kakashi found that most of the cupboards were devoid of anything eatable aside from several packages of instant ramen, which honestly, he didn't think were all that eatable.

So the question was; what should he do? He still wasn't sure why he had decided to play housekeeper for the night but at this point it was too late to turn back; he had thrown out everything.

Kakashi slipped out of the apartment the same way he had come and as the cool night air hit his face so did an idea.

Jumping off the balcony he made his way to a twenty-four hour grocery store.

To some, such a store would seem odd. After all, who would buy groceries at two A.M.? But, this was a ninja village and it was widely known that ninja definitely didn't keep regular nine to five hours.

* * *

><p>Sai watched the scene unfold in the same manner a scientist uses when observing his rats during an experiment.<p>

He took note of every action, from the time Kakashi stopped closing the window and opted to enter, to the moment he left with a "mischievous" glint in his eyes. At least, Sai supposed it was mischievous; it certainly fit the description in his books. But then, did that mean that Kakashi was about to do something surprising? If so, was it positive or negative?

This was Kakashi, after all, so it seemed unlikely that he would do anything to harm Sakura. But after witnessing him throwing out all of her food…maybe he wasn't quite as good natured as Sai had previously thought.

It seemed like a rather rude thing to do on Kakashi's part. Though never mentioned explicitly, Sai had gathered from all of his reading that it was bad form to sneak into another person's place of residence at night and throw away all of their sustenance.

Sai brought his hand up to his face and rubbed his chin in a manner he had seen many do when they were confused or contemplating.

At first, he had thought that the gesture would somehow stimulate his brain but after a few tries he realized it held absolutely no value. That didn't stop him from doing it, however. He found it do be rather comforting.

Sai looked through the window again to see that Sakura was still sound asleep. He knew better than to wake her. It seemed as though the only options available at this moment were either to leave or wait for Kakashi to reappear.

After a moment's thought, Sai chose the latter option as it had a far greater chance of proving to be interesting.

* * *

><p>After a long moment of staring ahead at nothing in particular and fighting himself on whether or not to turn around and forget about this whole endeavor, Kakashi found himself wandering through aisle after aisle of the grocery store, picking up various containers and tossing them into his cart.<p>

He wasn't sure what he was looking for but it wasn't as though he was on a tight budget. After years of being stingy he had managed to amass a small fortune and what better way to spend it than on his under-the-weather teammate.

He picked up a large container of what seemed to be strawberry flavored lollipops and turned the box over several times as if looking for a "Sakura approved" sticker.

Kakashi sighed and drew a hand through his silver tresses, mentally berating himself for taking this all way too seriously.

_It was just groceries! _

Having made it from one side of the rather large establishment to the other, Kakashi decided he probably had enough food to feed a small army or in this case, a depressed Sakura. If he remembered correctly, she was an emotional eater. He knew that he probably shouldn't enable bad habits but what else could he do for her? It wasn't like he was the consoling type.

He wheeled his full cart over to the cashier and began to unload. While doing so, Kakashi mentally registered items as he placed them on the scanner belt. Miso soup packets, strawberry mochi, green tea, Panko, and fresh shrimp along with numerous other purchases. Hopefully she wouldn't let all the fresh food go to waste.

As he placed the last item, a half-gallon of milk, onto to belt, Kakashi sighed contently. It felt as though he was getting a shit load of good karma for doing this. But as the price rang up, Kakashi did his best not to pay too much attention to the number the cashier rattled off. Rather, he repeated the mantra _It's for a good cause_ as he opened up his wallet and poured its contents into the woman's outstretched hand.

* * *

><p>Sai stretched his legs out in front of him as he further contemplated what to do. He could always just tell Sakura that Kakashi had thrown away all of her food though past experience had shown him that "don't kill the messenger" rarely -if ever- worked.<p>

He supposed he could also confront Kakashi about his actions but that probably would not end well either. Kakashi and he were never what one would call close, even by Sai's standards. He was pretty sure nothing would be solved through that altercation.

Perhaps the most plausible solution would be to replace what was taken but without rummaging through the trash he had no real way of doing so.

Sai brought one leg up, bending it at the knee to create an armrest while letting the other dangle off the roof's edge. This was all a few steps above where he was up to in his "human interaction initiative." At this point it seemed that any action taken had a very high probability of backfiring.

Luckily, Kakashi chose that moment to reappear in front of the apartment thereby pulling Sai out of his rather conflicting thoughts.

Sai leaned forward and watched intently as Kakashi gently placed four large brown bags of what he surmised to be groceries, down on the balcony. The bags slumped forward, leaning against the front door.

Quickly, Sai took out his pad and drew Kakashi crouching down by the door, unloading the bags onto the ground. If he was going to learn from this experience it seemed wise to document it thoroughly.

As Sai did his finishing touches, Kakashi stood up, surveyed his packages and with a quick nod, disappeared into a cloud of smoke without further ado.

After waiting a few minutes to be sure he wouldn't return, Sai tucked his drawing pad away again and decided that this was a good opportunity to go look at what Kakashi had left behind for Sakura.

Sai jumped across and landed on the railing of the balcony. He reached out and carefully prodded the closest bag. It seemed safe enough.

Sai climbed down and peered into each bag, noting how most of the contents where what Sakura considered her "favorites".

_Odd how that was accounted for... _

A few more moments of inspection were enough for Sai to come to the conclusion that Kakashi had thrown away her food only to replace it. The question was why?

Perhaps there had been something wrong with the food already in her custody. If so, why had Kakashi chosen to go about replacing it through such devious methods?

Maybe it could be attributed to Kakashi's odd tendencies in general. Sai did vaguely recall Sakura muttering something under her breath about Kakashi being "more of a dog than a man". It had seemed quite logical at the time considering how Kakashi had a pact with ninkin though Sai had learned long ago to take every Sakura said with a grain of salt. She did tend to natter quite a lot.

That aside, it would explain this whole event. This could all be chalked up to some sort of territorial dispute over who should be the one to purchase Sakura's nourishment.

With that resolved, Sai clambered up onto Sakura's roof and laid down under an overhang to keep himself relatively dry.

The only thing yet to be explained was why Kakashi had taken it upon himself to be the one to "claim" Sakura as it were.

Well, that and what would happen when Sakura found everything gone from her apartment. Hopefully, she would notice the food waiting outside for her before she blew up.

Sai closed his eyes and began to hum again.

This was something he felt he needed to stay and watch in its entirely. It could provide valuable insight into the human condition.

Sleep slowly seeped into his being and he slept well or as well as a ninja could sleep during a rainstorm on a roof. He was vaguely aware of the rain ceasing, the sun rising and the heat returning to the world, making it almost unbearably humid. None of this was monumental enough to make him get up. It would have to be something rather "exciting" for Sai to move at this early point in the morning. Something like- A loud crash resounded from below which was quickly followed by an even louder curse.

Sai flipped onto his stomach and peered over the edge of the roof just in time to see Sakura open her door and mindlessly storm out of her apartment, not even realizing the bags in her way.

Sai quickly took into account how her ninja skills were apparently dulled this early in the morning. He watched closely as she pitched forward and face planted the balcony floor, her legs up in the air balancing on the groceries.

After a few moments of internal debate over whether he should go down and help her, Sakura pushed her upper body up and while balancing on her palms shot a look over her shoulders at the offending bags.

Her pause as she assessed the items gave Sai an opportunity to get a good view of her face. He took out his pad and jotted down the scene. He captured her hair, sticking out in every direction, her slightly puff eyes and her stained light blue shirt that was at least four sizes to big for her rather petite frame.

All in all, she looked much more like a Hag than usual.

Sai nodded at the drawing in self-affirmation and leaned back against the roof. With a smile tugging at the corner of his lips Sai returned the pad to its place and looked up at the clear blue sky.

_This was shaping up to be very informative. _


	2. Second

Hey there again. Sorry for such a long time in between updates. Still haven't finished "Whispering" I know. It's just so hard to get it to ring true.

Ah well, here's the next installment of "Just Tell Me No". I hope you all enjoy.

And for heaven's sake people, don't forget to review. I might be persuaded to update faster if I had some reviews!

Don't own Naruto.

Thank you to my Floppy, your eye is always helpful! 3

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><p><em>She wiped something out of her eyes, not sure if it was sweat or her blood or the blood of one of the many enemies who she had pulverized or one of the many allies she had healed. Honestly, there were too many variables and she didn't have the time to check, let alone the energy to care. <em>

_Her eyes darted over to a group of ninja, foreign ninja, all moving towards her with malicious intent. She let her left foot swing back and sunk low into her fighting stance. She was dead tired and a few minutes shy of collapsing but, if there was one thing her shishou had taught her, it was to never show weakness in the face of an adversary._

_Sakura let her eyes slip closed for a split second but that was all it took._

_A rush of air knocked her back off her feet. From her position on her backside she opened her eyes just in time to witness multiple Narutos all holding Rasengan, charging forward at the line of enemy ninja. _

_The battle was over before it had begun and Sakura could only stare dumbfounded at the last Naruto left standing. _

_His lip was spilt and bloodied, his clothing was torn in various places with blood surrounding the ragged edges but it seemed to not bother him in the slightest. He smiled, his eyes alight with a passion that she had seen so many times before but never fully understood. _

_Now she felt she did. _

_Sakura looked up at Naruto with a newfound love as she accepted the hand he offered gladly. _

_He pulled her up and their bodies met, their chest gently bumping together. With eyes locked neither let go of the other. Amidst a raging battle, for a few short moments they stared at each other as if finally seeing one another. Or perhaps it was only her seeing with new eyes. Maybe he had always seen her this way. _

_For the first time ever, Sakura felt like the foolish one. How could she have missed the man Naruto had grown into?_

_Sakura allowed herself the smallest of smiles as she gazed into his cerulean eyes, memorizing every detail. _

_Yes, those eyes, so bright, so blue… once so alive. _

* * *

><p>Kakashi sat at his kitchen table slouching in his chair. With the fingers of his right hand he absently twirled the spoon that he had used to stir his coffee. The other hand was planted firmly on his thigh in a tightly closed fist.<p>

He was feeling on edge for reasons unknown to him. It couldn't possibly have anything to do with his random act of kindness last night; no, not possible. It most certainly could have even less to do with the fact that Kakashi wasn't satisfied with that act alone; he wanted to do more. No, simply impossible for it to be any of that.

Kakashi dropped the spoon back into the now lukewarm mug of coffee. It landed with a soft -plunk- and a small amount of liquid sloshed out onto his fingerless gloves.

He looked down at it for a moment as if contemplating whether it was worth removing, before wiping his glove against the plain green tablecloth and standing up.

"Pakkun."

The dog lifted his head, which had been tucked between his paws. From his position curled up on the couch the pug surveyed the room before looking at his master. He eyed Kakashi weary, not particularly pleased.

"You said I would sleep on here." Pakkun whined as if his position needed justification at this moment in time.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck and looked up at the ceiling for a moment before eying his counterpart.

"I don't care where you are sleeping Pakkun," Kakashi sighed.

Pakkun nodded sagely as if he completely understood the secret message that lay therein. "What are you going to get her next?"

Kakashi's eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second before returning to normal. He walked lazily over to the couch and fell onto it with all the grace afforded to a ninja of so many years.

"Who says I am going to get her anything?"

Pakkun sniffed the air as if insulted by the question and let his head plop down onto his paws. He looked out at the living room, focusing on nothing in particular.

"Judging by your earlier actions, I would say that you are not your usual self. She will know it's you by smell alone. Not very genius if you ask me."

Kakashi smiled, which he knew went unnoticed by the dog. "She lacks the sense of smell you or even I possess. She won't pick up on that."

Miffed, Pakkun replied, "What good is she then?"

Rolling his eyes Kakashi reached out and began to rub behind the ears of his lifelong companion. "What good indeed."

Pakkun, with his eyes practically rolling back into his head and his leg thumping intermittently, somehow managed to get out clearly, "So are you going to get her more stuff or not?"

"What do you have in mind?" Kakashi asked as he began to scratch more vigorously.

"Hmm… a different shampoo so she won't smell like me."

Kakashi ceased his placating of the pug and leaned back on the sofa again, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.

"Women and their hygiene is always a touchy subject. With Sakura particularly. I wouldn't broach the subject unless I wanted to be hospitalized."

Pakkun sat up and faced his master. "I thought you said she wouldn't know it was you."

"Yes, but…" Kakashi paused for a moment and sat up, rubbing his neck again as if it were sore. "She would likely take her less-than-pleasant attitude out on everyone around her. Particularly her teammates."

"I thought Team 7 was defunct."

Kakashi eyed the dog with renewed distaste and replied sourly, "You're very astute."

Pakkun seemed unfazed by the sarcastic comment and hopped off the couch, making his way into the kitchen. "Humans," he grumbled. "Can't live with them, can't steal their opposable thumbs to use as my own."

Kakashi followed Pakkun with his gaze, idly wondering if the dog was aware that his musing had been heard but thought better than to voice his opinion on the matter. Instead he posed a question, "What would you get for a friend who wasn't in the best of moods lately?"

Pakkun stopped midway to his destination, a bowl of kibble on the tile floor, and looked back at the silver haired man sprawled out on the couch.

"A toy or a treat. But as you always remind me, humans and dogs have little in common. A fact I am sorry about for your sake."

Kakashi rubbed his chin pondering this for a moment. What Pakkun suggested in human terms would be a gift of some sort. But what would a woman want?

Instantly, a plethora of ideas from his Icha Icha books came to mind. Candy panties, chocolate, flowers, jewelry, sex.

He had covered food already so that crossed of candy clothing and chocolate and there was no way in hell that he was sleeping with his former student so there went that.

"Flowers or jewelry," Kakashi said out loud but more to himself than to Pakkun. Pakkun was unaware that this was a rhetorical statement and automatically put his own two cents in.

"Flowers. Those won't last very long and they don't taste good."

Kakashi shot him a withering look at got up from the couch, stretching. A series of cracks and pops followed, which acted as a soundtrack as he said reproachfully, "They wouldn't be for eating but yes, you are right. Jewelry then."

Pakkun paused from his savage attack of the food before him and gulped it down before asking, "Do ninja wear collars?"

"Necklaces. Sometimes."

Pakkun shrugged, or whatever a dog's version of shrugging may be and bared his teeth in a smile, which ended up being more menacing then congenial.

"Sure. Get her that. Just stop bothering me about it." He took one last mouthful of food and nodded to the boss.

"See ya," Pakkun said and was gone in a poof.

Kakashi stood there for a moment, not sure if he should pursue his line of thought or give it up entirely and relax on this rare day off.

But alas, it was his job as team captain to take care of his team. More so than that, it was his duty as a friend to try to aid Sakura.

She had obviously gone out of her way to make sure no one knew her new place of residence.

She always seemed to be in a decent mood whenever they trained or met up for lunch so she must have been hiding her pain for whatever reason she had deemed fit. Or maybe she wasn't hurting at all.

Kakashi snorted, realizing how stupid that was. But it wasn't like he could walk up to her and openly acknowledge it. That might set her on a tear that would end with him torn apart.

His best option was to orchestrate everything from the shadows; a rehabilitation of sort without him ever having to intervene on a personal scale. Now that he thought about it, it was probably the best way to make sure both of them made it out unscathed.

Kakashi sighed and cracked his neck, his hand resting on the doorknob; how it had gotten there he wasn't sure.

It seemed whether or not he really wanted to do this he had little choice in the matter. He was past the point of no return.

Kakashi stepped out of his apartment, letting the door swing closed behind him. He wondered how he had let himself get mixed up in _this_ as he made his way down to the village center.

* * *

><p>Sakura looked back at the groceries behind her and wasn't quite sure how to feel about them.<p>

It had been abundantly clear when she had woken up and stumbled into the kitchen that someone had cleaned out the place. She hadn't bothered to think of why someone might do that or even who would bother. Instead, she automatically was up in arms and ready to storm out and face whoever had done it, not that she knew where to look.

Yet here she was, propped up on her palms and looking over her shoulder while her legs balanced on top of the bags.

The groceries outside her door were good for two reasons.

The first being that whoever had decided to raid her apartment was obviously nice enough to go above and beyond and replace everything; why they would do something like that Sakura wasn't sure.

The second reason was because they had stalled her long enough for her mind to clear somewhat.

Sakura pulled herself up and turned to face the bags, sitting back on her heels. She observed the scene before her for a moment and recognized the emblem on the bags as the one from the 24-hour grocery down to block. It made sense as the perpetrator had to have done this in the wee hours of the morning.

Pulling the first large brown bag forward until it brushed against her shins, Sakura peered inside and smiled. How could she not? The bag was brimming with her favorites.

Normally, this would have automatically made Sakura draw up the rather short list of people who knew what her favorite dishes were, but this situation was far from normal. So removed, in fact, that it didn't even occur to Sakura to be suspicious at that moment. Whether it was grogginess from being up so early or the fact that after eyeing the food she realized she was famished was anybody's guess.

She closed her eyes for a moment before pushing the inspected bag away in favor of checking the other bags. Her smile exponentially increased in size with every peek into the contents of the sacks.

When everything had been thoroughly gone over, Sakura was content to haul all the bags inside and put the food in its proper place. It was a fairly easy job for her after all. She did possess super human strength to lift everything with ease and the speed of a ninja to quickly dispatch the contents of her bags to where they need be.

After a few minutes of speedily darting around her kitchen, Sakura came to a full stop in the middle and nodded in affirmation.

The shelves were stocked and breakfast was long overdue.

Strangely enough, even though her jogging around the kitchen had made her more alert than before, the need to figure out the mystery man or woman behind the generous gift didn't seem all that important.

In the back of her mind, Sakura doubted that such an act of kindness would be repeated anytime soon and although there was a tiny voice in the back of her head that begged her to reconsider, Inner Sakura promptly beat it to a pulp. Sure, she loved to solve a "whodunit" as much as the next shut-in brainiac but maybe now wasn't the right moment.

She picked up a packet up fresh ground coffee and tore it open, savoring the fragrance before depositing it into the coffee maker and starting it up.

Sakura leaned against the kitchen counter and listened to the gurgling of the coffee machine for a moment before opening up the fridge and taking out two eggs and a bunch of baby spinach.

The eggs were cracked and mixed, a few pieces of spinach were added along with some salt and pepper and the whole concoction was poured into an already hot pan on the stove.

For the first time since she had moved in, the apartment was filled with the delicious aroma of freshly made food. In fact, for the first time in years the apartment didn't smell of stale take out.

Sakura pushed the memories threatened to overflow back as she did with the tears that stung her eyes.

Naruto had never been one for cooking and she had never thought to offer.

_He would've liked it_, she thought as she dished her omelet out of the pan and onto a plate.

* * *

><p>Sai sat on the roof contemplating what to do next. The smells emanating from the apartment below were enough to make his stomach rumble but he wasn't sure if he should act on it.<p>

He was fairly certain that Sakura was unaware he knew where she was living. Thus, if he showed up with a smile that she would believe to be false and asked her if he could stay for breakfast, she would probably freak out.

That left with him with little option. If Sakura's place of residence was out of the question than he would have to seek sustenance somewhere else.

The next closest place where this would become possible would be the civilian market place and if he had been prone to normal reactions, Sai would have shuddered at the thought.

It wasn't that he disliked the idea of being around the masses of Konoha, quite the opposite in fact. If Sai were aware he was capable of love he would have admitted to loving to observe the people as they moved around the streets with no apparent destination.

Yes, Sai liked to _observe_, not be within the body of people that he chose to observe. Thus, the prospect of interacting with people, something that every ninja who knew him had warned against, was somewhat daunting.

Another gurgling rumble sprung from his belly and Sai looked down at his midsection as though it were traitorous.

With a sigh, Sai stood up and looked out over the roofs of his village; a village he had spent his life protecting whether as a part of ROOT or in Team 7. It was a place he felt he could consider home even if he never quite fit in.

He moved at a slow pace over green, red, orange and yellow tiled roofs enjoying the sights the civilian side of the village had to offer. It was so much more vibrant and… alive.

Sai dropped down in an alley way and came out between food stalls that smelled delicious. He decided on the stall to his left and bought a few sticks of dango from the smiling round woman who had more empty gum space than teeth. Nevertheless she smiled enough to make her face into a pile of wrinkles, which Sai thought to be somewhat disconcerting. She was definitely a person worth drawing.

Chewing on one of the dumplings, Sai ambled down the center of the street, content to "people watch."

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary except- Sai stopped mid-step as his head swung to the right to gawk at a lanky man standing outside of a jewelry shop with his face practically pressed into the glass. The man's jounin uniform gave him away as a ninja and his gravity defying shock of white-gray hair informed Sai that it was none other than the Copy Ninja, his captain.

Sai popped another dango ball into his mouth and chewed methodically while wondering why Kakashi was outside of a jewelry store.

He might have been looking to buy something for a woman or perhaps Kakashi had a feminine side he kept hidden.

Sai shrugged to himself and took out his sketch pad, moving away from Kakashi to lean on the opposite wall. He began to draw as he watched Kakashi, eager to find out just what was going on.

* * *

><p>Kakashi stared long and hard at the offending object in front of him. Why did nice things have to cost so much money?<p>

He shoved his hands into his pockets and leaned back looking up at the sky. Perhaps trusting a dog with what to get a grieving woman wasn't the right decision but who else could he turn to?

Kakashi sighed and looked around him, paranoid that someone was watching. He seemed to feel eyes on him, making the hair on the back of his neck stand up. But did it really matter? As long as it wasn't Sakura…

Taking a deep breath, Kakashi walked over to the door and pushed it open with his shoulder. He stepped inside the store before he had a chance to change his mind.

Inside, the shop was dimly lit and the jewels behind the glass cases shimmered. It was enough to tempt any woman and probably several less masculine men. Kakashi, however, was neither and therefore impervious to their lure.

He pulled one hand out of his pocket and waved lazily at the man behind the counter in the back of the shop.

"Yo."

The wizened man peered up at Kakashi as he approached through bottle cap glasses. He then adjusted them on the bridge of his nose as he appraised Kakashi much like he would any of the items around him.

"Can I help you with anything young man?"

Kakashi held back a snort. He hadn't been called "young" by anyone in a long time. He was already thirty-something, not exactly a tyke by anyone's standards. He kept his amusement to himself and replied.

"I'm looking for something nice but simple."

"For a wife perhaps?" The jeweler said with a smirk, his small fingers tapping the glass top in front of him.

"No, no." Kakashi answered, never letting on that the question flustered him. He smoothly explained, "A friend in need of a pick-me-up."

"Ah, is she pretty? Does she like green?" the man rubbed his hands together somewhat comically.

Kakashi's eyebrows shot up as he cleared his throat. "She likes green," Kakashi quickly answered, careful to dodge the preceding question.

The old man seemed not to notice.

"I've just the thing for you." He scurried around the glass countertop in front of him and off to one side. He pulled out a small footstool from seemingly thin air and clambered up it to peruse the shelves that lined the walls.

After a few long minutes of gazing at what seemed to be nothing to Kakashi, the jeweler hopped down with a small box in hand and presented it to Kakashi with a broad smile.

Kakashi gingerly took it from the old man and wiped off a thick layer of dust from the top before opening the box. Inside was a delicate golden chain with a simple clasp. A small pendant dangled from it made of dusky jade, the same color of Sakura's eyes.

The circular ornament was delicately carved into a flower, no flower in particular but that hardly mattered. It was green and it was a blooming flower.

_Her eyes and her namesake._

"I'll take it."

* * *

><p>The dishes were done, not that she had used many this morning. The food and coffee should have been amazing as they were the first "real" food she had eaten in a while but it had all tasted ashen in her mouth.<p>

She didn't want to admit it to herself but it was most likely due to the thoughts that had preceded her meal.

Wouldn't breakfast have been so much better if she hadn't eaten it alone? Even more so, if it had been with the dear friend that she was just coming to see the value of.

They always say that you never know the value of water until the well runs dry. In Sakura's humble opinion, "they" didn't know the half of it.

The shower that had followed her rather disappointing breakfast hadn't done much for her either. The water had been hot, almost scalding as she liked it but, it had done little to sooth her ache, not that she would admit that the ache was more than just muscle fatigue.

Sakura was strong, too strong to let trifles such as a broken heart stand in the way of her work. But then, why was she holed up in Naruto's old apartment only seeing her comrades when it was absolutely necessary?

She shrunk away from human contact whether she was willing to admit to it or not. She knew she had to get her act together or someone would be bound to find out, namely Sai or Kakashi. Both were too observant for her own good.

The difference between the two being that Sai's observations ended up being a tad bit to pointed for her tastes and he tended to share his findings with everyone. Kakashi on the other hand was much more discreet about his conclusions. He would be patient, not even give an iota of acknowledgment and then suddenly would fall on her like a pound of bricks. In his best teacher tone he would admonish her for trying to carry her burdens on her own.

_What a hypocrite._

Wasn't that exactly what Kakashi did in the first place? Sakura knew he visited the memorial stone every day as a means of punishing himself for living while so many others fell. Why, it was just as bad as what she was doing staying here; constantly reminding herself of what she was now missing.

They were peas from the same pod, Sakura realized, both unable to let go.

Sakura eyed herself in the mirror as she brushed out her hair. She had let it grow out again and it now fell to just past her shoulders. Now its growth was not founded on a childish whim to please a boy but rather the on enjoyment of having hair to mess around with, not that she would admit that to anyone and if it ever came out she would silence the person who spread it well and good.

She smiled at the thought and exited the bathroom in favor of slipping into her black shorts, thigh holster, bindings and a red and black tank top that hung loosely off her body. She pulled her hair up into a messy ponytail and stuffed her purse into her holster.

She would be returning to work tomorrow so she figured she might as well enjoy her last day of freedom and solitude before having to deal with all the usual suspects again.

But solitude didn't have to mean being entirely alone, did it? Sakura had no problem with strangers.

So as she slipped out of her apartment and darted down the stairs, she was content with the knowledge that she would soon be swept of in the bustle of the civilian marketplace.

She perused the various stalls, admiring the handmade bags and masks. There were also food vendors whose enticing smells would have drawn her in if not for the meal she had just eaten.

At least, that was what she thought until she passed by a vendor selling Yakitori and the second the aroma reached her nose she was sold.

She continued down the street with a soon empty skewer in hand and watched the people that passed by her until a familiar face caught her attention. A few yards ahead of her was Sai, leaning again a wall between two vendors with his sketchpad out, his hands slowly moving across the page.

She had gone here to keep away from the people she knew but now one such person was in front of her… what should she do? Should she ignore him and keep walking or should she go over and say hi?

Sakura sighed, already knowing that she would feel guilty if she didn't at least say something.

Mustering up a cheery disposition Sakura plastered on a smile and stepped up in front of her teammate.

"Hey there Sai. What are you up to?"

"Drawing."

Sakura sucked in a breath, her expression momentarily switching over to one of annoyance before she regained control of it. "Anything in particular?"

"Yes."

"Honestly Sai," Sakura huffed, her hands clasping her hips, "could you be any less specific?"

Sai looked up at his only female friend and tapped the end of his brush against his chin. "Probably."

Sakura rolled her eyes and looked over her shoulder at what she assumed Sai had been drawing. It was nothing but a jewelry store.

"Given up on people then?" Sakura asked, turning back around to try to sneak a peek at the paper.

Sai strategically turned his pad away to make it nearly impossible for Sakura to see. He began to draw again and answered, "No. Still human beings."

Sakura sighed loudly and shrugged. "Alright. Whatever. I'll see you at training tomorrow." She didn't wait for a response as she began to walk through the market again.

* * *

><p>Kakashi stared out the window. More specifically, with a small box in hand, Kakashi watched two of his teammates chat across that way from him.<p>

His first thought was to be suspicious of the fact they had congregated right in front of the store he was secretly buying something at but he quickly dismissed it knowing that neither one of them were quite smart enough to have figured him out.

So he continued to watch.

Sakura seemed intent on looking at what Sai was drawing but when he made sure that was impossible she seemed to lose interest and continue on her way. Sai stayed behind however, continuing to draw.

After a few more minutes of watching Sai, which wasn't meant to be as creepy as it seemed, Sai looked up and Kakashi got the uncanny feeling that Sai was looking directly at him. His fight or flight instincts took over and Kakashi immediately teleported out of the shop in a burst of smoke and into the back room of the "usual" jounin bar.

He stepped out and took a seat in the far right corner, not at all surprised to see Gemna there midday.

"Hey 'kashi. What brings you in so early?" Gemna looked over at him, beer in hand.

"Well there was this cat…" Kakashi began.

Gemna quickly flapped a hand at him in surrender, knowing that he wasn't going to get a real answer.

"Me, I'm contemplating."

"What exactly? Which woman to get drunk enough that she will take you home tonight?"

"Hardly man. I figure that stuff out weeks in advance." Gemna responded with a toothy grin that forced Kakashi to seriously question why he was such good friends with the lecher.

"What's that?" Gemna reached over and fingered the box that Kakashi had placed in front of him when he sat down.

Kakashi looked down and it and then up at Gemna. "You know, I took advice from a dog on this one and you might possibly be a step up from that. _Might._"

Gemna snorted but didn't object so Kakashi continued.

"What would you get for a girl? Not a girlfriend. Just a friend."

"Well, how about what did you actually get her, right there?"

Kakashi wearily eyed the baggy and mumbled, "necklace."

Gemna took a swig of his beer and then placed it on the bar in front of him. "Ah, civilian then."

"Ninja."

"Ninja? You don't get kunoichi necklaces. You get them personally engraved weaponry or something."

Kakashi blinked processing this information.

"Ah."

"But hey, why not get her both. Two gifts are always better than one." Genma winked just as Anko sauntered over and leaned in between the two men, looking at each of them in turn.

"I'd say give her something that makes a statement. Iron Maiden perhaps?"

"It's a gift not a torture device, Anko." Gemna drawled, swishing his bottle around.

"Could be one in the same," Anko grumbled. "You never know what people may like. If not that then definitely furry handcuffs."

"I don't think Kakashi is getting a gift for _that_ kind of friend, Anko."

Anko swept her gaze over Kakashi making him feel more like a slab of meat than a man. "Need one Copy Nin?"

Before Kakashi could respectfully decline Gemna answered for him with a no followed by a few profanities, which only seemed to goad Anko on and thus began a verbal spar between the two of them.

Kakashi ignored them, deciding it was best not to say anything.

He wasn't quite sure what to do now. He was going to give her the necklace still but should he get her something more suitable to their line of experience too? Was he taking this whole thing too far?

Kakashi sighed and began to rub his temples, a headache coming on. "Whiskey, please. On the rocks."

* * *

><p>Sakura pulled a key out of her pocket as she reached the top step that lead to her apartment. She had somehow managed to waste an entire day wandering around the market and then sitting under a tree in the park.<p>

It had been a nice refreshing break from what she had come to expect daily. She was even willing to admit to herself that there were hours where she had been able to forget how much life sucked.

Sakura pushed the key into the lock and turned it clockwise. The latch clicked softly and the door bowed open. Sakura walked through and closed the door with the heel of her foot.

She passed through the living room and into her bedroom, stripping down as she went. By the time she was standing next to her bed she was only wearing her bindings and black panties.

Sakura tugged at one end of her bindings, allowing them to unravel and fall around her feet. She didn't bother to pick them up as she clambered onto her bed and rolled about until she was comfortable.

She leaned over and reached out to flip on her alarm when something glimmered on the night table.

Startled, Sakura sat up abruptly and quickly snatched up the shimmering object from the small open box it rested in.

Sitting in her upturned palm was a beautiful jade flower hanging from a thin gold chain that wrapped around her fingers.

Sakura looked around her as if expecting someone to emerge from the shadows and admit to having put it there. But there was none lurking in the darkness and her window was closed, just as she left it.

Turning her attention back to the necklace, Sakura couldn't help but smile. It was beautiful, not that she ever had a reason to wear it.

She placed it back on the night table by her alarm and snuggled into her bed, her hands resting on her stomach.

Someone was trying to make her feel better. That also meant that someone knew she was living here. Sakura supposed sometime soon she would have to put more effort into figuring out who but right now she was content to fall asleep with the knowledge that someone in this village had… noticed.


	3. Third

Come on people! Review!

Don't own Naruto but you already knew that.

Don't make any money off if this either but I'm sure you knew that too. If I did, I would probably update faster…. Or at all. =X

I know I am a terrible person but I just haven't been able to find the time!

College has been truly grueling this semester and sadly, sleep comes before writing on my to-do list. =[

Did I mention that I love each and every one of you? Cause I do!

Anyways, onto the next chapter!

* * *

><p><em>He looked into her eyes with such passion that for a moment she was sure he was going to kiss her. But, as his eyes slowly shifted away from her to over her shoulder, Sakura knew the moment was gone.<em>

_She wasn't sure what the kiss would have meant had it happened. Hell, at this point she didn't know if she would live to ultimately see Naruto's victory. Yet, her heart felt a little lighter in her chest. She had finally come to a momentous realization._

_Maybe she wasn't in love with him, at least not yet, but she certainly loved him. There was of course, the added bonus that he had loved her all along if his incessant proclamations of undying love were anything to go by._

_His thumb brushed over her cheek, a ghost of a touch that lingered on her flesh long after he had faded._

_She felt her eyes slip closed as his hand came to rest on her shoulder. _ _She couldn't see it but she felt him lean towards her as he bent down. His lips just barely pressed against her ear. _

_She resisted the urge to shiver as his warm breath fanned out across her neck. _

_They stayed like that for a few moments, neither wanting to break the silence but both knowing that it was inevitable. _

_A million possibilities of what he was about to say raced through her head but when he finally spoke, his voice a mere whisper, it was the last thing she could have ever expected._

"_Sakura-chan, run."_

* * *

><p>Sai sat on a small wooden stool in front of a row of pictures. All of them were simply drawn; the detail that he generally strived for was vacant from the sheets of paper.<p>

He held up a brush, wet with paint and stared hard at one picture in particular, as if he were seriously contemplating whether or not to let the tip of the brush caress the image before him.

After a long moment of hesitation, his hand swept forward and closed the gap. A patch of pale pink took hold around a simple, almost angelic face.

He moved slowly, capturing the perfect length of her hair as it fell over her muscled shoulders. His brush stokes swept across the page, mimicking the way her hair tumbled down in what had been explained to him as delicate waves. How one person's hair could be more delicate than another's was still beyond him.

Next, he cleaned off his brush and set it down beside him in favor of a much smaller one with a beautiful gold and black handle. The black wood was carved with intricate swirls of golden inlay that followed no rhyme or reason. Sai was fond of it for it's seemingly lack of order that somehow wasn't chaotic but rather, beautiful. At least, that was how Sakura has explained it.

It had been a gift from her, one he cherished whether or not he was aware of it.

He dipped the tip of the brush into a splatter of paint on his tray before beginning again. Her skin became animate as he gingerly applied pigment, accenting parts of her face to show how the light had hit it just right.

She came to life under his care, her body morphing from straight black lines to an endless mix of colors that bordered on perfection.

Perhaps under his care, Sakura became far more than she actually was. Come to think of it, whenever Sai chose to draw his closest friends he always made them "larger than life", so to speak.

They became greater than themselves, which might have something to do with the fact that he not only drew their physical attributes but was also careful to capture their personalities too. It was the delicate balance between the realistic aspects of them and their less corporal side that made them all so… alive.

Her shirt came next, which luckily covered everything from his view so he had no need to worry for her modesty, not that she would ever see his painting. More so, not that he really minded one way or the other; art was art, nude or otherwise.

The soft blue of the shirt popped and he expertly added in each crease and fold. The fabric looked so real that if one stared long enough they would be sorely tempted to reach out and see if it really was there.

Sai had decided before even beginning to paint that he would not do the backgrounds in color but only the people in this series, as they were the key factor of this endeavor. So as he came to the end, almost complete with her, Sai looked down at a selection of green paints and was unsure.

Her eyes he had left for last because all of his books had mentioned just how important a person's eyes were. They had stated that the eyes of person were the "windows to their soul".

In his drawing experience, you could get every other detail of a person perfectly but if their eyes weren't right it would never look like them.

Thus, Sakura's eyes for the moment remained untouched.

Sai placed his brush in a bowl of water and began to hum, soothing himself and giving him a chance to think. Getting her eyes right was critical.

Standing, he stretched out his lanky limbs, his arms over his head. It was odd to think that so much time had passed and yet he had only just begun. He wasn't sure how it had taken him so long to do so little. Perhaps he was just that meticulous when it came to her.

Her.

Sakura and Naruto had become his closest companions since his time in ROOT. They were what kept him grounded and able to fight against the oppression of the secret organization. With Naruto now gone, the ties that held him down seemed rather shaky. So much so that there were times where Sai felt that what was left of Team 7 would surely drift apart.

But there was always Sakura. She was hurting now, that much was obvious even to him. But she was still alive, still able to be repaired.

_After all, wasn't she worth it... worth everything? _

The thought hung in his head for a moment. He blinked. Once. Twice.

Sai dropped his arms and hastily walked over to his shelf of human interaction/how-to-make-friends books. He picked one up and hastily flipped to the relationship section.

With book in hand, he slipped down onto the floor and sat cross-legged. He began to read with vigor and was soon surprised by how well the descriptions fit how he surmised he felt.

* * *

><p>BEEP<p>

BEEP

BEEP

BEEP

BEEP

Sakura's hand shot out from under her covers and expertly crushed her alarm clock. It was one of many alarms that had been obliterated once in her possession. It was a joke between the Rookie 9, in fact. Ino would even go so far as to say, "everyone buy Sakura an alarm clock every Christmas because she will go through all 8 by next year."

Sakura sat up in bed, her arms reaching out, fists clenched, as she stretched her back and mewed. Morning back cracks were always so enjoyable.

Once satiated, she slumped back into her pillows and smacked her lips together with a satisfied "nom". Her eyelids almost closed, Sakura nuzzled her pillow.

Bed was… heaven. Dreamless sleep was a blessing and rare for Sakura so she wanted to savor this moment; alarm clock be damned.

How often did one get an amazingly restful night of sleep where they woke up satisfied anyway?

Just as a lovely blanket of sleep was settling over her again, Sakura's eyes shot open with the realization that she had work… right now!

No, scratch that! 15 minutes ago!

Had she not set it right? Did that even matter at the moment?

Flying out of bed, Sakura rushed into the bathroom and brushed her hair and teeth simultaneously. To an onlooker the task would have seemed impossible at worst and daunting at best, but Sakura had perfected the art of multitasking.

She didn't even bother with make-up as she gave herself a once over, thoroughly dissatisfied with what she saw but not caring enough to actually do anything about it.

She couldn't be bothered with picking out an outfit either, defaulting to hospital scrubs. Scrubs were to keep anyone from staring too obviously at what would have otherwise been a wrinkled wardrobe with mismatched socks. In other words, chances were she would've looked even more like shit had she actually put any thought into how she looked at the moment.

With her bag slung over her shoulder, Sakura speedily walked out of her house, not even bothering to lock her front door; the chances that anyone would go near "The Hero's House" were slim to none.

As she reached the last step, her hand flew up to her neck; she had forgotten something. As if death were on her heels, Sakura turned around and rushed back up to her apartment and into her bedroom. On the table next to her slain alarm clock was the small box, which she had held so fondly the night before.

Opening it up with care, Sakura withdrew the delicate chain and let the cool pendant rest in the palm of her hand.

She turned it over to look at the back. Perhaps there was an engraving.

It was blank and Sakura couldn't help but feel disappointed; she had thought maybe someone was trying to give her a message.

The cynical part of her was rearing its ugly head and demanding she find out who was sneaking around her place leaving cryptic gifts and making her paranoid.

The less distrusting side of her, which was the last piece of her left from before the War, felt that she should wear the necklace happily.

Sakura decided to take the middle road. She would wear it with the intention of seeing whose eye it caught. Maybe the culprit would out himself… or herself; Sakura was an equal opportunist.

Sakura opened the clasp and pushed her hair out of the way as she slid the chain around her neck.

When she was sure it was secure, she tied her hair up into a messy bun and once again headed to work, making sure that the necklace hung outside of her scrubs, evident for all to see.

* * *

><p>Kakashi rolled over and pulled the pillow closer, his arms around it in a death grip. He was fully awake but far too comfortable to move. He planned to lie in bed for as long as he pleased, pending meeting with the Hokage or no.<p>

Last night, after drinking as much as possible with no repercussions, Kakashi ambled over to Sakura's place, if it could really be called her place, and dropped off the necklace by her bed.

He didn't give it much thought until he was almost asleep. As he lay in bed, he began to question how creepy it was of him to leave a necklace by her bed. Was he entering stalker territory?

He knew there was no way someone could get into his apartment without his knowledge, tags everywhere made sure of that, but how would he feel if someone, somehow, managed to and left behind an object as proof.

Maybe she wasn't seeing these gifts as a good thing but rather as a creep who was trying to prove that he could get to her when she least expected if.

At this point, Kakashi had sat up, wondering if he was traumatizing his former student and if he could go to jail for being a closet pervert.

He had eventually decided that sleep was the only thing that could solve his problems, as he was a firm believer in the "sleep on it" strategy.

So he had done just that and was now basking in the midday light, unwilling to get up and do anything productive.

During his sleep he had come to the conclusion that he was only being mildly creepy and that Sakura was a smart enough girl to figure out that there was nothing malicious going on. Obviously a friend of hers had caught onto her situation and was trying to help her out indirectly since she acted as though didn't need help.

Kakashi pulled the pillow in his arms over his head as if he could properly smother his racing mind.

Why did he suddenly have Pinkie on the brain?

After a few minutes, Kakashi gave up, knowing that it was futile to try and stop thinking about her. He already knew that his day was going to spent picking out the perfect design for her next, hopefully last, gift. He didn't think he could come up with anything better than this and he knew he was bound to get caught if he kept it up for too much longer.

It was best to give her this last gift and move on. Hopefully she would get the message that she was cared for or else… Kakashi sighed and sat up slowly. What else could he possibly do except sit her down and have an intervention of sorts. No, no it was best that this be handled without any kind of interaction.

With that in mind, Kakashi pushed back the covers and rose from bed, ignoring his creaking joints. He made his way over to the closet, knowing that everything inside was the same; variety was confusing and required effort on his part.

Throwing on his usual attire sans vest, Kakashi ended up in the kitchen where he grabbed a semi-ripe apple from the fruit basket that someone had given him recently, who he couldn't remember.

He took a bite as he left his apartment, hearing the latch click softly behind him as he loped down the stairs and out into the street.

It was already afternoon so the village was buzzing much the way a hive would, not that Konoha had a hive mentality or anything. No, Kakashi would never accuse the naïve, simple villagers of that.

Of course, Kakashi would do anything for his hometown but over the years he had grown weary of the general populace and their fickle hearts. They had so easily accepted Danzo when Tsunade was in a coma and then were more than willing to abandon him when Tsunade recovered. Not that he hadn't wanted them to ultimately choose Tsunade but it was more of a matter of principle. Loyalty was not a word they were familiar with.

Kakashi weaved through the bustling streets at a steady pace, careful to avoid the occasional rut in the walkway.

_Honestly, didn't Konoha have money enough to improve its infrastructure? _

Kakashi shoved his hands deep into his pockets, unwilling to admit that he was in a sour mood. After all, he had no reason to be. It wasn't like he had anything of importance on his mind; Sakura was just a former student in need of a bit of a pick-me-up.

The Hokage tower loomed ahead, blocking out the sun as Kakashi reached the stone steps that lead up to the main entrance. The guards stood still and strong like statues but Kakashi knew that they would move in for the kill if they felt there was a threat.

Passing by the silent men, Kakashi pushed open the large green doors and walked up the main staircase to the top floor where Tsunade office resided. He was almost there when a door burst open as a desk sailed through it. Apparently the Lady Hokage was in as chipper a mood as he was.

Kakashi rounded the corner and almost slammed into a petite woman. Said woman looked up and his with wide jade eyes that shifted from rage to recognition.

"Kakashi-sensei. Gomen," Sakura breathed out. She certainly hadn't expected to see him, though it made sense; this was why she was here in the first place.

"I'm sure the Hokage will see you now. Have a nice day." She attempted to squeeze by him but a hand on her forearm kept her back.

"Is something wrong, Sakura?" The tone of his voice giving away nothing.

Sakura shook her head hesitatingly and shied away, disappearing down the hall.

Kakashi could only shake his head as he stepped over the wreckage of the broken desk and into Tsunade's office which was, surprise of surprises, desk-less.

"Lady Hokage." Kakashi said, tilting his head slightly. It was the closest to a bow he would ever give anyone.

"You're late." Tsunade sat in her chair, her hands in her lap as if everything was normal despite the state of her workplace.

Kakashi decided it would be best not to mention the explosion within the Hokage tower and instead asked about the matter at hand.

"Why was I called in?"

Tsunade sighed, a hand going back up to her temple.

"I am reinstating Team 7."

A silence filled the room that was both deafening and tense. Kakashi came close to asking her to repeat herself before he regained his composure and nodded instead.

"I see."

Tsunade waited a moment, assuming he had more to add as per usual with the sarcastic Copy Nin. When it became clear he had nothing left to say, she continued.

"It will consist of you, Sai, Sakura and Yamato. A proper 4-man team. Though it is a bit uncommon for two long distance fighters to be on the same team, Sakura's close combat skills will make up for it despite her job as the team medic."

"I see," he repeated. What else was there left to say?

Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "And you are okay with this?"

Kakashi shrugged, letting of his usual laid back personality, giving away nothing of the turmoil going on within. This definitely explained why Sakura had thrown a desk. She was in no place to go back to Team 7, the embodiment of Naruto, now lacking his orange presence. And did it matter if he was okay with it or not? Tsunade had already made up her mind.

"I realize that this will be a challenge for all of you," Tsunade said slowly as if she was waiting for him to interrupt with one of his rare moments of eloquence. "I will not send you on any missions, yet. I am calling for mandatory training 5 days a week however. Sakura will be relieved from most of her duties at the hospital. I trust you to take care of telling her that."

Kakashi let his eyes roam the room and knew exactly why Tsunade was leaving it up to him; furniture costs. Why put her desk on the line when Sakura could shatter his skull just as easily?

"Pakkun might have a problem with this. He was just starting to get used to being the only person in my life with strawberry shampoo."

Tsunade's eyebrows shot up as her lip quirked up in the smallest of smiles, which didn't escape the Copy Nin's attention. Very little did, after all. "Take care of it Kakashi! Dismissed!"

* * *

><p>Sakura sat down in one of the plush chairs lined up against the wall in the doctors' lounge. Though it was a bit ileitis to admit, the surgical doctors lounge beat out every other lounger in the entire hospital and she was, at the moment, head of the surgical ward having removed herself from ER duty. After the War, Sakura was no longer able to deal with the uncontrollable and often times life-or-death situations that required split second decisions. She now preferred the quiet operating room with its neat, printed out schedules and lack of surprises.<p>

Sakura looked over at the cup of coffee beside her. It had turned lukewarm. Lukewarm coffee was nowhere near as satisfying as piping hot.

Sakura sighed as she rubbed her temples vigorously, trying to get her mind in proper order.

_How had life gotten so fucked up?_

A civilian doctor walked in and passed by her. He didn't say a word, for which Sakura was forever thankful. She had no interest in talking to anyone. She could hear him rummaging through cabinets behind her. It wasn't that he was doing it purposefully, Sakura knew, but even so despite her best efforts the noise caused her hackles to rise.

_Why the hell are civilians so damn loud?_

Sakura abruptly stood and left the lounge, unable to deal with the presence of another human, let alone an obnoxiously loud one. Whether or not the doctor noticed her fast getaway or mood was unclear, but she wasn't all that worried. Even if he told someone that she seemed on edge, she had far more seniority than he and could pull rank if needed.

Sakura leaned against the wall outside and breathed in deeply. She wasn't a vindictive person. Why was she behaving like this?

Walking down the hall, Sakura made sure not to make eye contact. After what Tsunade put her through with the call on her break, the first person to get in her way or on her nerves was going to be pummeled into the ground. She knew she was being hot headed, even for her but there just didn't seem to be an off switch anymore. Her inner turmoil was bubbling over and spilling into daily life.

The cool air outside normally would have cooled her down but Sakura was burning too hot to notice. Rage, hate and hurt were powerful drugs that made her relatively impervious to outside interference. Whether this was unfortunate or not, Sakura wasn't at liberty to say; one thing she did know for sure was that there was no chance in hell anything could touch her. At least, that is what she thought until she ran into Kakashi, literally.

* * *

><p>Sai closed the book slowly, careful not to crease the page. The edges of the pages were worn and thin from him constantly fingering through the book; he used this particular one often in regards to Team 7 relations.<p>

He ran his hand along the binding of the book in an affectionate fashion. It wasn't often that Sai felt kinship to anyone or anything but Team 7 had changed him, as had this book. He felt a bit more human, whether that was the book's doing or Team 7 didn't matter as much as the fact that he finally felt anything at all.

For so much of his life, he had these strange feelings that he didn't understand the purpose of. A rumbling in his stomach that wasn't hunger. A twinge in his chest that had nothing to do with physical injury. All of it had made little sense during his time in ROOT.

And now, he found that everything he felt could be explained in detail within this book and many others like it. The authors seemed to have sensed that there were people out there who knew next to nothing about what their own emotions meant; for the socially awkward as it were.

But what had it taught him this time?

Sai put the book down on the end table besides him and unhooked his ankles, rising with feline grace.

He looked back over at the row of artwork against the wall and wondered what to do with all this newfound information.

He had successfully discovered a few different emotions that would explain how Sakura made him only problem was that the strange feeling Sakura gave him could either be platonic love, romantic love, lust or sympathy.

Unfortunately, these did not have much in common so if he misinterpreted himself, he was bound to get into trouble.

Sai took hold of the book loosely between his thumb and forefinger and slipped it back into its rightful place, in alphabetically order, on the shelf.

If his feelings were platonic than it was the same relationship he had had with Naruto, one of mutual respect. That seemed to be the easiest one to handle; it wouldn't change anything for them. If it was romantic, according to his readings, he needed to buy her gifts… Sai paused for a moment as he contemplated this.

Kakashi was secretly buying Sakura gifts. The notion of gift giving to the opposite sex in a personal way was in the romance section. Then again it was also in the close friends section…

Sai rubbed the back of his neck the way he saw Kakashi do it all the time, hoping that it actually did something helpful when in an uncomfortable or stressful situation. But, as Sai expected, it was another action of habit, not one of significance, like humming.

Sai walked into what would have been his bedroom if he had ever bothered to get a bed. As he neared his closet he reminded himself that the only way he was going to understand the situation further was through observational study.

Sai quickly changed into clothing suitable for the outdoors and slipped outside with a certain white haired man and pinkette in mind to find.

* * *

><p>Kakashi looked down at the small woman before him and almost felt bad for purposefully getting in her way, almost. He knew that if she gave it any thought she would figure out that there was no way he could've bumped into her by an accident.<p>

_Hopefully, not much of a thinking mood, eh? _

Kakashi mentally snorted at the thought. Sakura was quick witted. There was no way she would buy it being a mistake; she knew him way too well for that.

Giving her a quick once over, Kakashi couldn't help but momentarily stare at the necklace hanging around her neck. He did so quickly. So quickly, in fact, that Sakura didn't even register the movement of his eyes. So much for her plan of catching the whodunit.

Kakashi went into his usual nonchalant mode, reaching up to scratch the back of his head as his one visible eye closed into an upturned crease.

"Yo."

Through the barely there slit Kakashi left open, he could see Sakura blink slowly and tilt her head to the side as if she didn't know what to do with him.

After a long and awkward moment of silence, Kakashi dropped his hand and waved casually.

"Sorry for that. There was a cat and…"

Sakura held up her hand, her face tense.

"Please, Kakashi. Not today."

If Kakashi were a lesser man he would have gulped and stepped back. But, he was the famous Copy Nin! So, he smiled and scratched the back of his head and shrugged.

"Fair enough. Would you like to…"

Kakashi sighed eternally as Sakura slipped around him and started to walk down the street. She was certainly being difficult.

He turned around and fell into step beside her.

Neither spoke as they walked down the street side by side. Kakashi could feel Sakura's gaze shift up to him every few steps but pretended not to notice; it was better not to make her uncomfortable by acknowledging the fact that she was obviously watching him.

After a few minutes they reached Konoha Park. It was a beautiful open field lined with trees. The western side led into the woods. A small path wound around the area, weaving through trees, around a still pool of water and over the hill on the southern end. Benches were disbursed periodically.

Kakashi stopped at the gate and was surprised that Sakura stopped with him.

"Do you want to sit?"

Kakashi's eyes slid over to Sakura as she stared straight ahead like she hadn't just spoken to him. He opened his mouth, trying to think of an inane response as per usual but she cut him off by speaking again.

"I know you have something to say so you might as well tell me in a place with a decent view. That way I can ignore you in favor of the scenery."

She said it so matter-of-factly, so humorlessly, that Kakashi couldn't help but regret what he was going to have to tell her.

_What happened to the naive girl who was so full of love and life?_

But those private thoughts stayed buried in favor of the much less personal and introspective.

"Yeah," Kakashi said, fake smile plastered on his cloth covered face. "Sounds like a plan."

Sakura nodded, if it could really be called that. Her head dipped slightly as she meandered forward along the path.

Kakashi watched her carefully as she moved towards a bench off to the right. He stayed where he was as he watched her reach it, regard it as if checking for imperfections and then turn and fall back onto it. The way her body gave and crumpled onto the bench provided Kakashi with far more information than Sakura ever would have talking. Every inch of her reeked of pain, tension, exhaustion.

_When was the last time she slept through the night?_

Her head fell back for a moment, her eyes closed, before she straightened up and looked over at him. Kakashi took that as his cue and ambled along, slowly making his way to her.

* * *

><p>Sai walked behind the pair that seemed far too wrapped up in their own thoughts to even be vaguely aware of his distance 30 feet behind them. He kept his business so as to not push his luck as his eyes stayed trained on their backs. Resting on his left forearm was his sketchpad and in his right hand was a pencil with which he was drawing out the pair.<p>

It was good he had found them; he needed further drawings to add to the collection so as to have a more cohesive understanding of what was happening.

They continued walking until they reached the park at which point Sai hung back by a stall so he wouldn't arouse attention.

From his vantage point he saw Sakura walk into the park first and pick a seat. Kakashi followed shortly after, sitting as far as possible for Sakura while still on the same bench.

Sai flipped to a fresh page and began again, drawing the obvious tension between the two as well as the sad look in Sakura's eyes.

Sadness, that's what it was.

Sai had had trouble pinning down just what it was that haunted her expression. Grief. Misery. An emotion explained in so many of his books with so many words that all boiled down to the same thing. Everything about Sakura was filled with pure, unadulterated sorrow.

Kakashi didn't look at her as he began to speak; Sai couldn't make out the words but he heard the distance rumbling of Kakashi's baritone voice. He spoke for a while, every so often looking over at his companion whose eyes were downcast at her lap.

When Sai was almost finished, he heard Kakashi clear his throat and assumed that his monologue had ended.

Sai looked up from his work to see Sakura look over at Kakashi wearily. He couldn't hear anything she said but he saw her lips move ever so slightly. Whatever she murmured was brief as she turned once more to look at her lap.

Kakashi regarded her for a minute as if he was unsure how to handle what was occurring. At last, he looked away from her, replying and then getting up. He stood there for a moment with his back to Sai, probably saying his goodbyes, and then began to walk away.

Sai glanced between the two, not sure which to follow. After what could only be described as a few extremely long and agonizing seconds, Sai decided to leave Sakura in favor of following Kakashi.

He kept his distance as he observed the older Nin weave through the crowd. It seemed that Kakashi was unlikely to stop walking anytime soon when he halted in front of a shop, a rather famous shop at that.

It was a weapons store, well known in Konoha for making customs weaponry. Ninja's came here to order very specifically made weapons that "cost an arm and a leg and a nut and took over a month to receive but were worth all the fucking effort" as one of Kakashi's acquaintances had to eloquently put it. Each sword or dagger or bow or small projectile was one of a kind, beautiful and built to last a lifetime.

Kakashi pulled open the door to the shop and quickly stepped inside as Sai slowly made his way to stand outside of the shop window.

From his hiding-in-plain-sight place, Sai could see Kakashi make a b-line towards the man behind the counter and lean in closely as if sharing a secret with the old man. A few minutes of intent talking passed before Kakashi leaned back and pulled out his wallet.

Sai watched the white haired man begrudgingly put bill after bill onto the table until it seemed that his wallet was much smaller on the outside than it was within.

_Such emotion must mean something important._

Sai quickly sketched the little of Kakashi's grimacing face visible through the plate glass before tucking his pad away. He had to admit to himself that he didn't want to leave but he knew he needed to head towards the restaurant rookie 9, plus Tenten and her gang, usually met in. One, he didn't want to be caught by Kakashi as it would create unnecessary awkwardness. Two, Tenten had on no uncertain terms told him earlier this week that if he valued his life he would show up at the specified location at the specified time or else she would find him and make him "very very sorry". To be honest, Sai wasn't entirely sure how to take this but thought it better not to ask as Tenten's head looked, as his books had so informed him, like it was about to explode. It was almost ironic that with Ino gone Tenten had stepped up to fill her hotheaded position.

Thus, Sai found himself gliding across rooftops in an effort not to be late and incur the wrath of the Rookie 9. For whatever reason they had all decided to get together and he wasn't going to argue.

He arrived at the worn-down establishment and entered quickly, heading to the back where they always gathered.

As he neared the group, Choji looked up at him and smiled. "Sai's here."

The rest of the group turned to face him, all a little more than a little tipsy.

Hinata hiccupped and regarded him with a blush. "Have you seen Sakura around?"

Sai nodded in affirmation but chose not to speak.

Kiba leaned across the table and burped loudly. "Where creep-o? We've been looking for her. Want her to join us tonight!" He flashed his canines before falling back into his seat.

Sai blinked slowly, regarding the dog-boy without an expression as he shrugged. "She was by the park last I…"

The entire group got up and started heading for the door before Sai could finish his sentence. Shrugging again to no one in particular, Sai turned and followed the group out of the bar, ignoring the shouts of protest as the waiter yelled, "Whose going to pay for all this!"

* * *

><p>Sakura watched Kakashi's back as it receded into the distance. She had been surprised that he had left. Well, not surprised that he had left but surprised by the fashion in which he had gone about leaving.<p>

After she had asked him to "please go before she made his face concave" she had expected him to disappear in a poof but instead he nodded and stood up. A few moments of awkward staring ensued before he shrugged his shoulders and with his hands stuffed deep into his pockets he began to walk away, shoulders slumped forward in their usual way.

_Why was this time different?_

He didn't look back as he disappeared behind a building and Sakura couldn't help but feel disappointed. She knew it was pointless to sit here and expect him to come back especially since she had been the one to tell him to get lost.

With a heavy sigh, Sakura stood and busted off her lap. With her eyes trained on the ground she began to walk out of the park.

That is, she was walking until someone or something slammed into her side.

Sakura stumbled sideways before quickly righting herself, dropping momentarily into a defensive stance before seeing the offender.

Sitting on the ground looking dazed, was a kid not more than seven. He stared up at her with bright blue eyes. His blonde hair stuck out at funny angles; it was just begging to have a comb run through it.

The boy scrunched his eyes shut for a minute before a brilliant smile crept across his face. He pushed himself up and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry about that lady."

Sakura's heart wrenched at the sight before her. He looked like a carbon copy of the Naruto she had known as a child. Yet, even though it hurt, she couldn't help but smile back.

"What were you doing anyway? You mustn't have been paying much attention."

The boy bit his lip sheepishly before shrugging. "I was running backwards. See I was late to class so…" his voice trailed off as he looked away from Sakura. Classic Naruto when he knew he was about to says something truly stupid and get a sound beating for it.

Sakura leaned forward a bit so they were closer to the same level.

"Just spill it."

"I figured if I ran backwards to class maybe time would go back with me or something. I just didn't wanna be late," he grumbled.

Sakura stood up straight and crossed her arms. "Well, honestly, I have never heard that before. But I think you're probably better off going forward, late or not."

The kid nodded sagely as if he understood some sort of deeper meaning in her words. He smiled again and gave Sakura a thumbs up before running off in the direction he must've been going in the first place.

Sakura turned to watch him leave and as he reached the gate he spun around and shouted, "I'm Haru! See you later, lady!"

The smile slowly faded from her lips as she watched him go. It was hard to smile anymore when there was no one smiling back.

_Haru. Sunshine._

* * *

><p>Kakashi exited the wretched money-sucking store just as it started to rain, which tacked on one more reason why today wasn't really working out for him.<p>

He scowled up at the sky as if he could frighten it into submission; no such luck.

With shoulders hunched forward, Kakashi made his way down the now fairly empty street in the direction of home. There a nagging feeling deep in his gut, pulling him towards the monument stone but he didn't want to burden his passed-on friends with his petty problems.

It wasn't as through he was poor but he sure as hell hated spending money. He knew he was cheap. So cheap that he barely spent money on anything save essentials like his uniform and weapons. He had no problem shelling out a decent sum on a good sword for _himself._ Yet, there he had just been paying a fortune for someone else's weapons. Why? Maybe to bring life back into those dull, green eyes.

More than anything sitting beside her today had been a dagger to the heart. No, worse than that. It was as if someone stabbed him and then twisted the blade round and round to draw out his suffering to its greatest extent.

Kakashi was a fairly jaded man; he had seen death and destruction from a very young age. But there was always some hope for a better future, some distant glimmer of better things to come. For a while it had been Rin. Then when he thought there would never be another such person he met his team. Even after they had broken apart when Sasuke left, he still found himself having faith because of his two former students.

He almost dared to venture that the fact he was still alive was attributed to the two of them. How many times had Naruto stepped into the line of fire to save him? How many times had Sakura healed a fatal wound? He owed them his life, a debt he could never repay.

With Naruto gone only Sakura was left but even that was only in the basest sense of the word. Sure her corporal form was there but that was vastly overrated when the spirit in her was crushed.

What hope was there for an old ninja when everything he cared for crumbled around him and he was unable to stop it?

Kakashi slowed as he reached his building, not even vaguely surprised that he had managed to walk the whole way home on autopilot.

The unhurried assent to his front door was followed an equally leisurely walk from his front door to his bedroom.

Throwing his flak jacket on a nearby chair, he stepped out of his shoes and peeled off his shirt and pants. Lying down on his bed with his hands tucked behind his head, Kakashi regarded his ceiling for the millionth time.

What more could he do for her?

Deep down Kakashi knew that the best he could ever do was talk to her. Not about Tsunade's orders as he had today but about the pain he knew she was feeling. Kakashi was a master at suppressing pain so he knew it when he saw it in others. Sakura was walking around enshrouded in sorrow. The best thing for her was to finally get it out. She needed to talk to someone she trusted and he knew without a doubt that she trusted him. The only question was, did he trust himself?

Kakashi had never been one for handling his own feelings well much less anyone else's. He wasn't entirely sure he could listen to her without bolting at the first possible opportunity.

Rolling over onto his side Kakashi closed his eyes and listened to the rain. It was only midevening but all he wanted to do was sleep.

* * *

><p>Sakura walked down the street head tilted up slightly, enjoying the cool rain on her face. The sky was just beginning to darken and the world hung in a beautiful frozen moment of twilight.<p>

At least, it was beautiful until a rather large group of drunkards shattered it.

"!"

Sakura froze misstep and sucked in a deep breath. She didn't dare turn around for fear that that would make them all the more real.

"Saaaakkkurrraaa! It's us!" A female voice this time, one she recognized well as Tenten's.

With every ounce of effort imaginable, Sakura plastered a smile on her lips and turned to face the oncoming group.

"Sakura! Come have a drink with us!" Kiba yelled and he half sauntered, half stumbled towards her.

"I think you've had enough don't you think?" Sakura said, her voice intentionally light.

"Nahh! I can hol' my liquor," he slurred.

"Ah, yea. That much is _obvious!_" TenTen shouted from behind.

Sakura continued to smile even though her cheeks hurt. She couldn't help but run through all the possible exit strategies in her head. She just wanted to be alone.

"I'm sorry guys. I would love to, but I really have to get going."

"Oh yea? Where to?" Kiba wrapped an arm around Sakura's waist. It took all of her will power not to flinch.

"Uh…" she looked around her helplessly.

_There had to be something!_

Her eyes landed on a familiar apartment complex and she blurted out, "I have a meeting with Kakashi."

Everyone stared at her wide-eyed for a moment before Kiba burst out laughing.

"The old geezer is late to everything. I'm sure he won't mind." Kiba began to tow her back the way they came, everyone else falling into step behind them.

Sakura's mind was reeling. She wasn't ready for this. She couldn't be around everyone without melting into a pile of inconsolable goo.

Her fight or flight instincts were kicking in and she knew she needed to get away_._Sakura shied away from Kiba and sidestepped his attempt to catch her hip again. She quickly back-peddled around the group and towards the front steps of Kakashi's building.

"All the same I really have to get going. Thanks though," she said, her voice strained. She quickly turned, not waiting for a response and sped up the steps.

Kiba started after her but ended up just as surprised as everyone else when Sai's hand came to rest on his forearm.

Mouths proceeded to drop, jaws hitting the ground with alarming speed as Sai did a very un-Sai thing.

"Give her some space. She needs it."

* * *

><p>Like I said before, I know it has been forever but don't forget to review! I swear it really does make me write faster!<p>

And don't worry, it is rated M for a reason… I just gotta get there first. =P


	4. Fourth

Guess who's back? Back again?

ME!

Ready for the next chapter? Hopefully the wait hasn't killed any of you beautiful, faithful readers =P

Don't forget to review. It makes me happy when you comment and share your thoughts/opinions on the story and how it is progressing!

Enjoy!

* * *

><p><em>She ran as fast as she could in the opposite direction. From behind, the screech of metal scrapping metal, Naruto's strong, clear voice as he used his justu, and the screams of agony that followed bombarded her ears. <em>

_The ground quaked under her feet and she fought back tears, promising herself that she wouldn't turn around, she wouldn't look back. She had to run and find help. For one time in her stupid life she'd listen to what he had told her to do._

_She reached a line of trees and was safe. Or at least safe enough to risk a quick glace back over her shoulder._

_He knelt before a man with cold, dead eyes. Around the two them were the bodies of a dozen many men. Men who she knew had fallen at Naruto's hands. _

_The world froze as a scream tore through the air. It was a scream that Sakura barely recognized as her own. Against all reason she found herself running back to him, running back the way she had promised not to return to. _

_She wouldn't let him die. Not like this! _

_The closer she got, the stronger her dread became. As she neared the disheveled corpses on the battlefield, it became painfully clear that Naruto and his enemy were experiencing their last moments of life._

_A sword protruded from his stomach and the man, still standing, was bleeding profusely from one side. _

_As she slowed to a halt beside him, the man with the cold, dead eyes fell to the ground, dead. At that same moment, Naruto started to fall backwards. She sank to her knees, catching his head and propping it up on her lap._

_She began to heal him, pouring her life force into it; anything to save him. _

_With a cold hand, he reached up and gently pushed her green tinted hands away. He looked up at her with a smile as brilliant as the sun and a message in his eyes that said 'we did it'. _

_And then… he was gone._

* * *

><p>Sakura stared hard at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Whether or not she was actually seeing herself remained unclear. Fingers traced imaginary wrinkles by the corners of her lips. An old woman to match her eyes, her soul, had been conjured up in place of her otherwise youthful visage.<p>

How could one so new to life be so full of scars? But alas, being jaded knew no age and Sakura had both feet planted firmly in that category.

A cool breeze blew in through the window in the shower stall. High up, almost touching the ceiling, the mere crack of a window was the only light source in the otherwise dark room. The stream of sunlight that managed to find its way in cast an unearthly glow, almost like heaven's light.

Not so long ago Sakura would have admired how the soft light cast beautiful shadows onto her face, making her skin glow from within. She might have spun around and admired herself – if she was absolutely certain no one was watching. She might have done many things if the world hadn't have turned and time hadn't have passed and if she wasn't standing there as the broken soul she'd become but rather as the vivacious, naïve girl she had once been.

Sakura vaguely recalled being told – by whom she couldn't remember – that even the worst of scars eventually faded. That same person had also said that a scar itself was something to be proud of, ugly or not. Scars don't form on the dead, they had said. Yes, that was it. Scars only form on the living.

Sakura turned away from the mirror and exited the bathroom. The hall light was on, casting heavy shadows on the walls as she made her way back into the living room, his living room.

Sitting on the couch, looking at her bleary eyed, was the man who had been kind enough to let her stay the night.

* * *

><p>Kakashi leaned back on one arm, his feet propped up on the coffee table as regarded her with a veiled expression.<p>

He had forgone the eye patch; it seemed silly to go that far with her.

When Sakura had shown up last night, drenched and shivering, Kakashi had thought the worst. Had she finally lost herself? Was she past the point of no return? Had he failed yet another comrade?

But on the outside she remained strong as ever, though he knew she was in pieces inside.

She had oh so politely asked him if she could stay until the rain let up. When he'd said yes she had skirted around him, careful not to touch him, and stood just inside the door.

He'd left her there to get a towel and something dry for her to wear. When he returned he found her exactly where he had left her, a puddle surrounding her feet as she held herself tightly.

It had taken all of his willpower not to hold her, sopping wet clothing and all. Instead, he'd cleared his throat to get her attention and then handed her the bundle. He hadn't even looked at her as he muttered where the bathroom was and pointed with a flick of his finger.

She hadn't spoken, he recalled. Out of the corner of his eye he had seen her nod and disappear from his peripheral vision.

When she finally emerged, he had told her she could sleep in his room since it was too late to send her out into the rain. He'd also declared that he would take the couch.

He had expected an argument, a grunt of disapproval, anything that would have shown the fighting spirit that she had once possessed in spades.

Nothing.

She'd nodded again and whispered a 'thank you' before disappearing into his room, the door clicking softly shut behind her.

He hadn't slept much that night as he contemplated what he had been thinking by letting her stay.

Now here she was, standing before him wearing one of his plain gray shirts and a pair of his sweatpants. He knew if anyone could see them like this, their minds would automatically steer them down a path that need-not-be-mentioned. No, he wouldn't let himself even think it.

She continued to just stand there, her hair a halo-like mess around her face, her arms hanging like dead limbs at her sides.

"Would you like to sit, there's room for two… or three," Kakashi said as lightheartedly as he could muster this early in the morning.

She looked at the spot next to him and he could tell she was weighing the pros and the cons of the situation. After a few tense moments it seemed the pros had won. She sat down beside him, her legs folded beneath her.

She pushed back a lock of hair behind her ear and spoke to the coffee table, though Kakashi wisely surmised it was actually directed at him.

"Thank you."

Kakashi shrugged. "Nah. It's nothing. I have dogs here all the time."

She tensed and Kakashi quickly backpedaled. "Not that I'm comparing you to Pakkun."

He scratched the back of his head and remembered for the millionth time why he hadn't wanted to talk to her alone. Anything and everything might set her off.

He expected an explosion or for Sakura to withdraw even further into herself. What he hadn't expected was for her to look up at him and with the wryest of smiles reply, "No, Pakkun wouldn't be too pleased with that, huh?"

Kakashi stared at her dumbfounded before quickly recovering. "Probably not. Plus you strike me much more as a cat person."

Sakura shrugged and looked down at her hands, her forefinger tracing patters on her palm.

"I was always interested in having neko-nin but I can't get a contract for something like that."

"Why not?" Kakashi sat up a bit straighter.

Sakura stiffened as her head snapped towards him.

"I don't recall it being as easy as making one."

"No, no. But I'm sure someone has it."

Sakura frowned. "Someone in a different village."

"Ah," Kakashi said, not knowing where else to go from there. It was like the awkward morning after but with none of the fun of the night before.

_Honestly,__couldn__'__t__she__have__picked__anyone__else__to__stay__with__for__the__night_?

As if she could read his thoughts Sakura stood abruptly and headed back toward the bathroom.

"I'll get my things and go. Thanks for letting me stay the night."

Kakashi sighed but made no move to stop her. It wasn't as if he could think of anything intelligent. He wanted to help her, he really did. But, he was fairly certain that anything he did would only mess things up further.

He stood and went into the kitchen. Dishes from the past few nights lay in a heap in the sink and a cup of stale coffee sat on the counter. He had been about to drink it when she had knocked on the door last night.

Regretting the waste, Kakashi paused midway through pouring the coffee down the drain and chugged what was left. Then, he began to wash the dishes.

Over the water he couldn't hear as Sakura emerged from the back. He didn't need to as his senses were heightened enough to register her presence anywhere in the apartment.

He tracked her as she paced around the living room, apparently unsure of where to leave the clothing; it seemed she settled for the couch.

She then walked to the door, then over to where the dining room began, then back to the door.

_Maybe she's contemplating whether or not to say anything._

Kakashi didn't stop scrubbing. He wasn't going to intervene on her internal debate. Whether or not she said goodbye was of little consequence. He felt no need push the situation, especially if it was already this hard for her.

"Kakashi."

He stopped his ministrations and put the dish, carefully balanced on his palm, in the sink. He turned the water off and with a dishtowel he wiped his hands dry as he turned to face her.

"Yes?" He asked, his voice inflected with its usual ambivalent lilt.

"Just wanted to say thanks again. Guess I'll see you later."

"Later?" Kakashi questioned as Sakura turned away.

She looked over her shoulder at him with a confused look.

"Training, remember? You're the one who told me, Kakashi."

"Tomorrow. Not today."

Sakura blinked a few times as if emphasizing her point and replied, "Later as in some time in the future. So tomorrow. The future."

He might have smacked his forehead if she hadn't been standing there. Though the look she was giving him did just as much damage.

"Right. Yea. I'll be there."

Sakura walked away, shaking her head and muttering, "Yea, be there two hours late."

Kakashi opened his mouth to retort but then thought better of it. Instead he simply said, "Later then!"

The door closed with a click and Kakashi leaned back against the counter, shoulders slumped forward.

He reached up with one hand and tugged his mask down, letting the fabric pool around his neck.

"Kami."

He had always been as comfortable as he possible around Sakura – which wasn't really saying much, honestly. But, he hadn't been this bad with her since she was a whiny pre-pubescent pain in the ass; that much he was sure of.

In recent years they'd been able to talk with relative ease and always maintained a decent level of friendly banter. In fact, Kakashi rather enjoyed the word games they would play; she was one of the few people around who could keep up with him, metaphorically speaking.

Why did the only good and wholesome part of his life have to fade away?

_Why was she... tainted?_

Kakashi groaned and closed his eyes. It was terrible of him to think of her like that but it was the truth. She was getting to be as bad as he was. That was something he would never wish on anyone – ever.

Wearily, Kakashi pushed himself up and away from the kitchen counter to turn and face it. Surveying the contents of the sink he decided it was fine the leave the rest of the dishes for another time.

The clean dishes sat neatly stacked on the drying rack, a light blue towel underneath to soak up the water. A small stream had managed to escape running the length of the counter before dribbling off the edge.

It fell one drop at a time as Kakashi stood there, silently watching it. Each drop clung on to the very edge for dear life before the pressure of the one following it was simply too great and it fell, landing in the slowly growing puddle on the tile floor.

The whole scene was unbearably philosophical and probably not worth delving into any further. He had enough on his plate without taking the time to contemplate water droplets.

With his eyes closed, Kakashi scrubbed a hand through his hair and shuffled across the apartment into his bedroom. Everything was exactly how he had left it, pants on the floor and shirts hanging off the railing of the bed; it was like she hadn't been there.

He pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes for a moment before sighing and sitting down. He laid back, his feet still on the floor and opened his eyes, staring up at the bottom-of-the-floor-of-the-man-who-lived-above-him.

His ceiling.

Cracks ran crisscross along the ceiling. Senboms littered it like tiny stars; he did target practice when he was bored at night.

Light slipped through the cracks in the blinds and painted thin lines on every surface available. The air was stuffy from lack of ventilation and hung thick around Kakashi.

His eyes slipped closed as he propped his head up on his arms and breathed in deeply.

A few more hours rest would probably do him a world of good.

.

..

…

….

…..

…

_He pushed through the last of the trees and if not for years of training would've stumbled into the open field. All the way on the other side he recognized a shock of pink hair. _

_Sakura. _

_She was hunched over a body crumpled on the floor._

_There seemed to be no air to breath._

_Behind him he felt the presence of his comrades. Gemna came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder which Kakashi didn't have the energy to shrug off._

"_Go to them," Genma said, his voice gruff with emotion._

_Kakashi nodded but didn't move. He had no fucking idea how to. His feet were rooted to the ground. _

_They had won. They had fucking won. Konoha was safe. Naruto had more than proven himself and was going to be appointed Hokage. Tsunade was more than ready to step down. How the fuck could THIS have happened?_

_A soft keening whine brought him out of his thoughts and into action. _

_Before anyone could register what was happening, Kakashi was across the field, stooping down next to Sakura._

_She didn't even seem aware of her own whimpering. Her whole body was convulsing. Whether it was from exhaustion, shock, despair or a combination of all three, Kakashi wasn't sure._

_Had he had a chance to think, he wouldn't have done anything; but instinct took over and he grabbed her hands, wrenching them away from Naruto's stiff form and pulled her against his chest. _

_One hand cradled her head, his fingers weaving into her hair. The other hand held her lower back, pressing her firmly against him._

_She fought at first but eventually sagged into him and began to cry. They started out as silent tears but soon grew in volume until she was wailing. Her high-pitched sobs were grating to Kakashi's sensitive ears but he made no move to get away._

_Other Konoha ninja began to emerge from the trees and approach them. His keen ears picked up on their sniffling and attempts to hide their soft cried behind hands and shirtsleeves._

_Before long, everyone seemed to find his or her way to the field, civilian and solider alike. _

_All had come to see the final glory of their leader, the hero of Konoha, the Number One Unpredictable Ninja. _

_Kakashi turned towards Naruto, Sakura still in his arms. Naruto's eyes were closed but a smile was evident on his face. He had left with Sakura there holding him, loving him. He was lucky, not many ninja died under such 'pleasant' circumstances._

_Kakashi kissed the top of Sakura's head and held her tighter. He would never let anything happen to her. Never…_

…

…..

….

…

..

.

Kakashi awoke slowly, the dream fading into a haze. He sighed and sat up, rubbing his shoulder; he had slept in an awkward position.

The dream, from what he could remember of it, had been rather disturbing. Simply put, was just wishful thinking.

He hadn't ever gone over to Sakura; he hadn't held her. He'd stood there, across the field, long after people had come and carried Naruto away. He hadn't had the strength to do anything.

Perhaps it was the guilt of that day that was driving him now.

He hadn't been there for Sakura before but he would do whatever he could from now on.

He stood and cracked his neck.

"Better late than never," he mumbled to no one in particular.

* * *

><p>The clouds were large and fluffy as Sai watched them pass by overhead. A poet might have described it as 'bulbous tufts of marshmallow white slowly making their way through a still sheet of effervescent blue'.<p>

Sai reached up and closed one eye so that his perspective would change enough for the cloud to easily sit on his outstretched palm.

The weather was beautiful. Days like these were the ones that he used to spend with Team 7. They would train for hours until the sun was high in the sky and the heat was unbearable. During those few hours they would go to a nearby lake. Kakashi would always sit in a tree and read. Naruto was the first to jump into the water and after a few minutes of making fun of Naruto's foolishness, Sakura always followed suit.

Yamato tended to sit at the base of a tree nearby and watch contently while Sai… Sai had always wanted to join Naruto and Sakura but felt he would've been intruding if he did.

Another chance for a memory of something close to a normal life now gone.

The cloud passed through his fingertips and Sai let his hand drop to his side.

After Sakura had left the night before, the party broke up due to the sudden awkwardness of the situation.

Kiba had stared at his hand for a few seconds before looking up at Sai's face and grunting, "Chill dude." Kiba then stalked off towards where Sai presumed he lived.

Sai had watched him leave and from behind he heard everyone shuffle about, wish each other a good night and go their separate ways.

Finally, when the street had cleared, Sai looked up at the building Sakura had disappeared into and felt what he could only describe as being content.

The chances that Kakashi could make Sakura feel better were greater than anyone else's; Sai already knew that there was nothing he could do for her.

He'd looked up at the building for a moment longer before blending into the shadows and disappearing into the night.

He'd wound up on a roof and had stayed there up until this point. He had seen the sun rise in brilliant yellows and reds that bled through the darkness and now, hours later, he sat watching clouds pass by.

It was easy to understand why Shikamaru used to do it so often; one's mind tended to wander in the best of ways when watching far off places.

A rumble resounded in the distance, hinting at the chance of an oncoming storm. It was rather normal for it to rain daily in Konoha.

Sai sat up and looked out over the brightly colored roofs.

Last night, he had briefly considered observing Kakashi and Sakura through a window to see how they interacted. He still wanted to understand how their relationship was progressing. But, it was highly probable that one of them would sense his presence.

He knew he'd just have to wait and 'lurk' as it were.

Lurking was frowned upon in his books as it led to 'stalking'. Stalking was apparently something that could end with legal ramifications, which Sai was not particularly interested in.

It would probably suit his needs to wait around in public areas. It would also keep him out of trouble.

Sai sat up and rested on his palms, his shoulders hunched forward.

The position was uncomfortable but Sai had seen many people do it as a means of relaxation. Honestly, he didn't quite understand how but perhaps, as with many things, like humming, it would come to him over time.

A sweet smell drifted from somewhere nearby and Sai's stomach grumbled softly. It was a reminder that he hadn't gotten a chance to eat last night or this morning. The scent grew stronger and brought Sai to his feet as he slowly moved towards it.

He reached the edge of the roof and looked down.

To his surprise he found his pink haired companion. She was leaning against the side of the building he was perched on with a big stick of dango in her hand.

Something began to creep into Sai – a feeling – as he looked down at her. He had read that the emotion he was feeling would be accompanied by him licking his lips. Whether it was supposed to be at Sakura or the dango he wasn't entirely sure.

* * *

><p>Sakura leaned against the cool side of a building and breathed in deeply. The intoxicating aroma of her freshly purchased food filled her nose and made her stomach grumble.<p>

She lifted the large stick to her mouth, more than ready to take a bit when she sensed a presence overhead; she froze.

The presence was familiar and soon registered in her hunger-driven mind as Sai.

"I know you're there," she grumbled loud enough for him to hear. "Come on down so I don't have to keep shouting."

A moment later the lanky, pale boy appeared before her looking sheepish; Sakura was fairly certain he had no idea what being sheepish meant. In fact, she would venture to say that if she asked him he would either spout out a definition found within a dictionary or ask her what livestock had to do with anything.

Sakura popped a dango ball into her mouth and chewed methodically while Sai very obviously stared at her lower face.

It was blazingly obvious that he was hungry; so obvious that Sakura had to resist rolling her eyes.

If he had been anyone else, puppy-dog-eyes would have been deployed at this point. But this was Sai; he only knew of things like pouting in theory. He was too transparent for such childish manipulations.

At least, that's what Sakura thought until Sai ever so deviously licked his lips.

She couldn't quite explain why but the action had her taken aback.

_Since when was Sai… coy?_

"Uh, Sai. You alright?"

Sai blinked a few times as if being brought out of a daze but his eyes never left her lips.

"Yes. I would think so," he murmured.

Sakura sighed and shifted her weight so that her hip popped out in a classic cut-the-bullshit pose.

"If you are hungry all you have to do is ask."

This seemed to warrant enough attention for Sai to looked up. He eyed her suspiciously and nodded.

"Alright. I am hungry."

If this had been a year ago, Sakura would have squealed out of frustration and threatened serious bodily harm. As of now, however, she just didn't have it in her. Instead, she broke the stick in half and handed him the bottom portion.

"Here."

Sai nodded again; Sakura took this to mean 'thank you'.

She popped another ball into her mouth and pushed off the wall in the direction of the training fields.

Sai quickly fell into step beside her. After quickly eating all that she had given him, he glanced over at Sakura and asked where she was heading.

Sakura shrugged and muttered, "I figured I would see where we'll be starting tomorrow. Training you know. Team…" Her voice drifted off as memories best forgotten, clouded her vision.

Next to her Sai kept quiet. Sakura assumed this was because one of his books had taught him to. For once she was sort of grateful that he had read those self-help guides.

They continued on for a while before Sakura stopped which caused Sai to stop as well.

"I'd like to… you know."

Sai looked down at her and responded in a serious tone. "No, I don't."

Sakura's nose crinkled up slightly with indignation. "I'd like to walk alone. Sorry." She looked off in the direction she was heading.

"You aren't sorry," Sai said matter-of-factly.

"I know," Sakura said as she suppressed a groan. "I was being polite."

Sai shrugged and nodded. "There is an expression I came across at some point. I believe it was 'No harm. No fowl.' Though I am not sure I understand the significance of poultry, I do believe it has to do with one not taking offense when there is no reason to."

Sakura couldn't suppress the smile that Sai's antics brought forth so she didn't bother to hide it. She didn't bother to correct him either, and simply nodded in affirmation.

She reached out to pat his arm but then thought better of it and began to walk away in the direction she was initially heading.

Sai was not behind her, she knew. His presence had disappeared after a few moments. By the time she reached the entrance to her new training grounds she was alone, or rather Sakura had thought she was alone until she noticed that someone had already beaten her to inspection.

* * *

><p>The door gave easily under the slight pressure of his shoulder as Kakashi leaned into it. He slid the side of his body along the paneled surface until the tip of it snagged his flak jacket.<p>

Kakashi turned away slightly, not caring that the sharp edge tore the fabric a bit, and continued on. The door swung shut behind him.

The store manager sat in his usual place in the back, behind the tall room-length counter. In front of him was a rather large stack of paper and a calculation device, which he was punching into vigorously as he muttered under his breath.

The old man hadn't noticed the jingle of the bell that rang when the door was opened nor the large silver haired man approaching him.

Kakashi wasn't surprised that the geriatric wasn't aware. Even when compared to other ninja he was notoriously light on his feet, much to the chagrin of his peers.

The ninja drummed his fingers against the glass, which effectively shocked the clerk out of his number driven daze.

The clerk gasped loudly and stumbled back, clutching his chest.

"Kami! Must you scare an old man like that?"

"Totally unintentional. Promise." Kakashi crinkled his eyes and smiled sheepishly.

The clerk shot him an unconvinced look as he regained his composure.

"You're back early. The blade won't be ready for another few days even though you paid extra for it to be pushed to the front of the line." There was a hint of condescension present in his tone that Kakashi disliked but decided to ignore.

Kakashi leaned on the counter and scratched the back of his neck. With his head tipped down he looked up at the clerk and sighed.

"Is there any way to speed it up even more?"

"Antsy are we?" The clerk seemed a little too satisfied for Kakashi's comfort. "Who is the lucky girl?"

"My mother." Kakashi deadpanned.

The clerk narrowed his eyes and huffed. "Well, fine. This doesn't change anything! Come back in two days and I _might_have something for you."

"Alright! Alright!" Kakashi held his hands up in mock surrender and quickly backpedaled out of the store and onto the street. He would let the clerk win this one; it wasn't worth the headache.

Kakashi shoved his hands into his pockets and walked towards the training grounds at a leisurely pace. His team was supposed to meet tomorrow and he wanted to be prepared.

As with most things in his life, Kakashi tended to act like he winged it when in reality, he put quite a bit of thought into every action, every utterance.

He calculated that this first training session would rapidly deteriorate into Sakura smashing anything that came near her. After a few minutes of this, she would then probably melt into a puddle of emotion in the center of a self-made crater.

He doubted there would be much he could do to stop it, but it would behoove him and every other ninja, if he got a feel for the area in order to minimize damage.

Kakashi sighed as he reached the training field Tsunade assigned to Team 7. In all honestly he had no idea how it was going to work. Sure, Yamato, Sai, Sakura and he worked well together. Hell, he would go so far as to say they bordered on seamless coordination. But Naruto had been there and he was the agitating, loud, obnoxious glue that kept everyone together. He was the proverbial kick that kept the ball rolling. No, he was the ball.

"Now what?" Kakashi murmured.

His musings fell on deaf ears as the wind picked up and carried his words away.

He moved towards the center of the open area and put his hands behind his head, taking in his surroundings.

Across the field unbeknownst to the silver haired nin, a young woman with a shock of pink hair watched him with a mix of unease and concern.

Multiple times during the course of the past few minutes she had contemplated going up to him and providing some semblance of comfort, even if it was only the presence of another human being. Yet, every time the thought entered her head, she squashed it down. She knew if she gave it too much more thought, she might actually go through with it.

Kakashi was not the sort of person to seek out company when he was unhappy which was a majority of the time; he hid it well.

She remained fixed in her current location, silently lamenting her inability to act. Naruto would have done something, brash as it may have been, but something nonetheless.

She was immobile and therefore useless.

Sakura turned away with a frustrated sigh and started to walk back the way she had come. She was glad that Sai hadn't accompanied her to the field, glad that he hadn't seen just how weak she had become. No, she had always been weak. The super human strength was on a façade.

As she reached the fence the wind picked up and blew back towards the lone man in the field but Sakura paid it little heed. Her mind was so muddled that it didn't occur to her that her teammate had an impressively sensitive nose; he could 'taste' her on the wind.

And taste he did.

The subtle scent of strawberries wafted through the air and enrobed Kakashi. He savored it for a moment before pulling himself out of its comforting embrace and turning to find the source. Truthfully which he already knew but was so surprised by it that he required visual confirmation.

Sure enough, receding into the distance was the Pinkie.

Pinching the bridge of his nose Kakashi exhaled and looked up at the sky.

Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

* * *

><p>Hey there again!<p>

Do you guys think it would help if when I switched character perspectives, I included a little subtitle with that characters name? I've never been a fan with how that looked but, if you think it'd be easier to follow then I am all for it. Lemme know =]

AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!

DO IT! THE BUTTON IS RIGHT THERE!


	5. Fifth

I AM SOOOOOOOOO SORRY THAT I HAVE BEEN AWAY SO LONG! COLLEGE HAS BEEN KICKING MY PERVERBIAL MOTHERFUCKING ASS! I HOPE ALL MY LOVELY READERS WILL FORGIVE ME!

And now… onto the usual blathering…

Okay so I go into a decent amount of detail regarding clothing. Because of this, I decided to make a few of the outfits described. Why, you may ask. Answer: So you can see what I see!

That being said, please keep in mind that I have never before attempted to draw on a computer. Please don't laugh at my first attempts to do so! (Not that I would know if you did…) I have one of Sakura's, one of Kakashi's and one for Sai's. (They can be found on my page) Hopefully it'll help you visualize better!

With that out of the way… ENJOY!

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><p><em>Even the sky seemed to weep as row upon row of man, woman and child stood before the podium where Tsunade presided. One by one she listed each individual, names of the fallen ninja as they were added to the memorial stone.<em>

_She saved his name for last. When she finally read it out, a murmur spread through the audience; it reminded Sakura of rushing water. The sound grew in magnitude as it rumbled towards her._

"_Naruto."_

_Sakura kept her eyes down as stepped forward, mechanically following Tsunade's instructions. Slowly, with all eyes on her, she placed a bouquet of white lilies at the foot on the stone. _

_She took out a kunai and thrust it into the earth, just in front of the memorial. This was symbolic of how all ninja were from the earth and to the earth they must one-day return. _

_The flowers, the kunai, the whole ceremony was too overtly ritualistic for her but she knew she had little say in the matter._

_She rose and slowly backed away, her eyes glued to the grass in front of her feet. The ground was spongy and swallowed up the heels of her boots, making her retreat unladylike and clumsy. _

_Behind her she could hear Tsunade's voice wrapping up the ceremony and the crowd slowly disbursing. _

_She didn't leave; she couldn't._

_Her eyes slowly moved from the ground, up the façade of the memorial stone and stopped on one of many newly engraved names._

_It glistened in the rain, somehow more evident than all the other names that surrounded it._

"_Naruto," she whispered reverently, her fingers pressing into the flesh just below her lower lip._

_His name was a prayer for her. One that she was almost too terrified to say aloud. _

_He had left her. _

_Despite his best efforts and dying wishes, she was broken, alone, and confused. If only he had understood that she was miserable without him. Perhaps he had thought that in his death she would find meaning, another purpose. Perhaps he had thought she would live for them both. _

_Why couldn't he see that she didn't have the strength?_

_He had been the one with boundless energy and she… she was nothing._

_Across the rows of stone slabs that stuck out in perfect lines of gray, another person lagged behind as well. She was vaguely aware of him but it didn't concern her. Kakashi was always at the memorial stone, mourning his slain friends. It probably had nothing to do with her._

* * *

><p>Kakashi looked across the room at the neat pile of clothing sitting unassumingly on his kitchen table. He had ordered a new wardrobe. The act of doing so went against his gut feelings though, it was about time that he accepted change was inevitable. Yet, despite it's inevitability, it was also fucking annoying.<p>

Truthfully, though Kakashi was loath to admit it, Genma had pushed him into doing so. That being said, _he_ had taken the reins on what it looked like. It was a combination of his AMBU outfit and what he had worn as a kid around the time he became captain of his first team.

Kakashi crossed the room and leaned against the table, rubbing the mesh of his long sleeve shirt in between his fingers. Putting all of this on was like admitting that one chapter of his life was closing, which was too damn bad cause the book had long since shut.

"Genma, are you going to say something or just sit there quietly? It isn't like you to shut up." Kakashi murmured, letting the fabric slip out of his grasp.

The man in question shifted on the couch and smiled toothily. "What do you think of it? What you were lookin' for?"

Kakashi turned around and shrugged. "It is what it is."

Genma rolled his eyes and stood up. He situated himself beside Kakashi, his knees bumping into the chair that was pushed in beneath the table. He picked up the over shirt, inspecting it carefully.

"Bet it'll look hot on you," Genma commented much to Kakashi's distain.

Kakashi turned away and claimed Genma's pervious position on the couch.

"Doesn't everything," Kakashi scoffed, but his level of dripping sarcasm was lackluster.

With shirt in hand, Genma spun around and flung it at Kakashi who caught it with little effort.

"Well?" Genma raised an eyebrow and picked up the rest of the pile, perfectly content to chuck it piece by piece at his friend.

Kakashi sighed and motioned for Genma to pass it over; he knew better than to argue about something this unimportant.

Kakashi stripped down to his boxers in the center of his living room. He had little to no problem being next-to-naked in front of Genma. He'd seen Kakashi's bare ass many a time. It was something Genma liked to point out often when he was drunk.

Kakashi slid on the dark green pants and secured them with bandages.

Eyeing Genma suspiciously, he quickly pulled the mesh short over his head and tucked it into his pants.

"Are you going to gawk like a school girl the whole time?" Kakashi asked in a mild tone.

"If I were a girl, I'd have jumped you a minute back." Genma laughed.

Kakashi snorted at his comment and strapped on his vest and boots. He grabbed his holster, pouch and gloves from where he had dropped them on the floor the night before.

"No haiat-te?" Genma asked, his confusion apparent.

Kakashi adjusted his mask and grabbed a roll of bandages off the table, wrapping his upper arm with it.

"No need."

"Lost your Konoha pride, Hatake?" Genma questioned as his senbon rolled to the other side of his mouth and hung off his lip.

"No. Right here," he held up his gloved hands, backs out towards Genma.

Sure enough, the Konoha emblem was engraved on the plates on the back of each.

"Ah, got it covered. Well, this isn't the only reason why I came here." Genma leaned back against the kitchen table, his palms flat on it.

Kakashi sat down on his couch, now fully dressed, with his arms spread out over the low back. "And here I thought you took advantage of any chance to see me naked."

"Or indecent," Genma threw in before clearing his throat and looking at Kakashi with the most serious expression he could muster.

"Yea well, Tsunade sent me over to-"

"Look, if this is about getting the Team together I am working on-" Kakashi interrupted, sitting up alertly.

"No, it's about putting a new-"

"I told her I could handle-"

"If you'd just let-"

"Me finish-"

"Shut the hell up for a damn second, Kakashi!" Genma bellowed as he stood up straight and cracked his neck. "Jeez man, if you'd just let me get it out. Tsuande-sama wants to turn your cell into a five-man team. She knows you'll whip 'em into shape. Jus' changing the dynamics or something. Don't take it personally. And damn it man, you know I don't like losin' my temper," Genma glowered.

"Why didn't she inform me of this the last time I met with her," Kakashi barked.

"Recent decision I guess. What with my own team being," Genma's voice cracked uncharacteristically, causing him to shoot Kakashi a reproachful look. Kakashi couldn't help but regret his misplaced aggression.

"It'll be you, then?" Kakashi questioned, his tone which softer than before.

"Yea. Looks like it. Look man, you know me, I'm pretty easy goin'. I make a joke out of everything. I like girls, drinking and having a good time. But, this is serious stuff now. I'm being straight with you so give me the same back, Hatake."

Kakashi nodded and looked over at his long-time friend. "Be at training tomorrow. I want to break the news to them before you're there."

"Mmmmm" Genma sounded through closed lips, which Kakashi took to be a "yes".

"Well, that's it anyway." Genma rolled the senbon across his tongue before pulling it out. He flicked it up where it pierced the ceiling and hung precariously above his head.

Kakashi didn't move for a long time after that. Genma waited a bit before mumbling something about having somewhere else to get to and shuffling out the door.

Kakashi continued to sit there; he knew he had time to waste until practice. Plus, being early was hardly his style.

A five-man cell? It was unheard of... or at least it had been until Team 7. But, Genma of all people! What an odd choice to round out the group.

Though, Kakashi pondered, it wasn't all that illogical.

His mind began to wander back to his first team. Memories of an ill-fated mission that cost him an eye and a loved one flashed before his mind's eye.

Kakashi pinched the bridge of his nose and willed his mind to still. His hands shook as he leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. He opened his eyes as his lips parted and he gasped.

His mind surged backwards in time, reliving the deaths of one person after another until stopping short on a pair of eyes, blue eyes. He had looked into those eyes and promised a good friend, a man destined for greatness but marked for death. He had promised this friend to take care of Sakura…

Kakashi squeezed his eyes shut, gripping his knees with white knuckles as he sucked in air. His lungs felt deprived as he silently begged whatever Kami there was to save him, though he knew he hardly deserved it.

He had never been one for prayer, never been one to believe that any otherworldly being controlled the sun, the moon, his fate. Here he was asking one for forgiveness when, in part, it was he who needed to forgive himself.

A soft –pop- brought Kakashi out of what could only be described as a panic attack.

He looked up to see Pakkun sitting a few feet away from him, looking up with a bored expression; the only one he seemed to have.

"Boss," Pakkun greeted Kakashi with a nod.

Kakashi slouched back, the cushions forming around his torso as he let his head fall onto the curve of the top of the backrest.

"Yes, Pakkun?"

"Me and the boys were wondering how everything was."

Kakashi, with seemingly great effort, lifted his head and eyed the pug with mounting suspicion.

"In regards to what?" Kakashi asked in a modulated tone.

"The strawberry shampoo one. Great taste, you know."

Kakashi snorted and closed his eyes.

"Not going to say, are you?" Pakkun grumbled.

"No."

"Can I have a treat?"

"No."

"Are you just going to say n-"

"Good bye, Pakkun." Kakashi bit out through a clenched jaw as he stood up.

"Where are you going?" Pakkun asked as he watched his master head towards the door.

"To training."

Pakkun looked down at his paw as if checking the time and gruffly stated, "You'll be early."

"There's a first time for everything," Kakashi retorted as he slammed the door closed behind him hard enough the make the hinges creak.

* * *

><p>Sakura glanced over at her alarm clock and sighed; there wasn't one to look at. While mentally berating herself for breaking yet another device, she rolled over and buried her face into her pillow.<p>

Her arms curved up around her head as her hair fanned out beneath them.

Her teal sheets sat low on her hips, just covering the black cotton panties she'd worn to bed.

In another life, this would have been an intentional erotic display of the curve of her back, not hidden because her camisole had ridden up over her ribcage. It would have served to provoke a boyfriend or even a husband.

_A husband… what a joke._

Sakura groaned loudly and flopped over again onto her back.

She stared up at the ceiling and tried to will her body to move. She was astounded by how her natural instincts could take her from one side of a room to the other in the blink of an eye, but when she tried to make her body move this early in the morning, it was near impossible.

Through sheer will power alone, Sakura eventually managed to sit up. Followed by a rather long and drawn out yawn and back crack, Sakura pushed herself out of bed and walked over to stand in front of her unorganized closet; unorganized was putting it lightly.

She squatted down and rifled through a pile on the floor, which she was sure contained some of her training gear; it hadn't been used for quite a while.

Biting her tongue in concentration, she leaned in further, bracing herself against the door with one arm while the other disappeared into the mountain of fabric before her.

After a few minutes of squinting her eyes in concentration and trying to decipher what to pull out by feel alone, Sakura's right hand emerged victorious. A pair of black mid-thigh spandex shorts dangled from the tip of her forefinger.

She hastily put the shorts on and went through her underwear drawer in search of the matching sports bra. Upon not finding it, Sakura settled for a deep red one and threw it on over her mesh shirt.

Sakura sat down on her floor and rolled back as she stuffed her feet into her calf black boots, which were conveniently leaning against the bottom of her dresser. Once her feet were shoved in, Sakura flexed her toes, getting used to the tight leather.

Grabbing her medical belt, holsters, vest and various wrappings, she headed to the bathroom.

She stopped in front of the mirror and examined her face. Deep purple half moons hung beneath her eyes, darkening their emerald hue while making the rest of her face look blotchy and pale.

Turning on the faucet, Sakura cupped her hands under the steady steam of cold water and splashed it over her face.

She scrubbed the back of her hand across her eyes and sighed.

Giving her hair a quick brushing, she fastened her haiat-te like a headband and tucked the hair that fell in front of it behind her ears.

Tearing her eyes away from her reflection, she grabbed her medic kit and buckled it around her hips.

She grabbed the pile of bandages and wrapped up both knees and her upper thigh; both of her holsters went over the wrappings.

She looked up once again and licked her lips; they were dry and cracked.

She closed her eyes for a moment and pulled her gloves out of her vest.

Sakura slowly counted down from 10.

When she got to 0, she opened her eyes again.

Dropping her gloves on the counter Sakura opened her medical cabinet, which was sparsely stocked. Sakura kept all medicinal items in her kits, not her bathroom; it was one of her many quirks.

She scanned the mostly vacant shelves. A tube of lip-gloss lay on the bottom. She grabbed it and a stick of coal that lay next to it. Both had been gifts from Ino, once upon a time.

Sakura carefully applied the coal in a thin line under her eyes, smearing it along her eyelids. She then dabbed gloss on her lips and rubbed them together; she didn't want anyone to suspect she had stopped caring about her appearance.

She'd gone through so many stages of caring and not. From her boy crazy phase to her "I'm practically a man" phase to a pleasant place somewhere in between. Now, she might as well have had all the good intentions and interest of a plant.

Sakura grabbed her gloves and exited to bathroom, sliding them onto her hands as she made her way into the kitchen.

She opened the fridge and was, once again, grateful for whoever had stocked up the place.

Grabbing the container of orange juice, she popped off the cap and chugged down a sizable amount before wiping the back of her gloved hand across her mouth.

Sakura sighed and put the juice back, pushing the refrigerator closed with her hip. She looked around the small space and wondered what else she could do to stall. The last place Sakura wanted to be was surrounded by people who could read her like a book.

Sakura walked over to the sink and was, for the first time in her life, disappointed that there were no dishes to wash.

A groan escaped as Sakura walked back over to the fridge and took an apple out of it. She held it firmly between her teeth as she slipped out of the apartment and jumped the railing. She landed crouching on the ground but straightened up immediately, taking a bite before letting the apple fall into her waiting palm.

She began to walk towards what she surmised would be her doom. Or, at the very least, a painfully traumatic experience.

* * *

><p>Kakashi leaned against a tree on the far side of the field. He had no intention of meeting Sakura halfway as she descended the gentle slope of the hill.<p>

When she was within earshot, he offhandedly commented, "Not your usual style of dress."

Sakura's eyes narrowed as she scrunched her nose. "Nor yours," she retorted as she halted just short of him.

Kakashi's lip quirked up and he shrugged. "Change of pace, I suppose. Your excuse?"

"Couldn't find the usual ensemble in the pile of clothing that _is_ my bedroom."

Kakashi nodded sagely and with mock sincerity replied, "Happens to the best of us."

Sakura rolled her eyes in return and was about to quip that it "also happened to the worst, such as him" when a familiar voice cut her off.

"You two decided to match today. Cute."

"What are you doing here, _today_ Genma?" Kakashi asked. His voice betrayed his otherwise calm demeanor.

"Just came to see how things were progressin', which is not much it seems." Genma replied, his senbon rolled around in his mouth, much to Sakura's distaste.

Meanwhile, Kakashi looked Sakura over again, now noticing that her vest did indeed match his pants. Kakashi attributed this to the unavoidable fact that hunter green was common among Konoha ninja.

"We are still waiting for the others as you can see." Kakashi swept his hand out in front of him, the lack of the rest of the team apparent.

Sakura sighed and clucked her tongue. "It's a sad day when Kakashi is the first one to arrive… anywhere."

Genma hung his head and groaned while Kakashi maintained an appearance of apathy.

"A sad day indeed. But why not start or somethin'. Maybe a duel to get your blood pumpin'?" Genma offered.

Kakashi, decidedly choosing to continue to ignore Genma, glanced over at Sakura and asked, "How about we spar until they get here?"

"Hey! That was my idea!" Genma said indignantly, his finger thrust up into the air.

"What do you care about, the fact that I am using your idea or whether or not you get credit for it regardless?" Kakashi quipped, his eyes still on Sakura who was doing her best to look everywhere but at him.

"That!" Genma shouted, his hand flapping in Kakashi's direction. "The second one!"

"We have options?" Yamato said, as he appeared a few feet away, effectively startling everyone.

"Jeez, man. You almos' gave me a heart attack." Genma said, as he wrung the back of his neck.

"Sorry." Yamato offered, though his voice lacked any sign of remorse or interest.

Genma opened his mouth to reply, presumably with something absolutely inane, when Sai appeared over the crest of the hill and began walking towards them, seemingly unaware that he was late.

When he was finally within hearing distance, Sakura turned around and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You're late."

Sai nodded and replied as if it were the most natural thing, "I assumed that our Captain would be, as is usual for him, two and three quarters of an hour late. Naturally, I based my timing around that."

Kakashi held something between a snort and an outright laugh at what must have been the bright spot of his day thus far. Only Sai could say something that was both perfectly logical and completely idiotic.

"But you're only twenty minutes late, not almost three hours…" Sakura said, bemused.

"Yes, I like to arrive first." Sai replied, unaware of the confusion he was creating.

At this, the other four blinked, very, very slowly.

Kakashi, deciding that this had all gone far enough, pushed himself off of the tree and walked out towards the center of the field, hoping that his team would get the silent message to follow. He also hoped Genma would take the hint and get lost.

Of course, as per usual with this group of miscreants, neither happened.

Upon reaching his destination, Kakashi turned around to find everyone exactly where he had left them, though now all eyes were on him.

He sighed and quickly motioned them over with a flick of his forefinger, mimicking a 'come hither' gesture.

Genma was the first to respond, much to Kakashi's chagrin. He loped over and put an arm around Kakashi.

"I always knew you were gay for me," he teased.

Kakashi made no move to either disentangle himself or acknowledge Genma's existence. This left the rest of the team unsure as to whether or not it was a silent confession on Kakashi's part.

After a few moments the rest followed suit and Kakashi explained what they would be doing for the day.

"Both Sai and Yamato are long ranged and Sakura, for the most part, is a back up fighter, primarily our medic." Kakashi looked over at Sakura and hastily added, "That is not to discredit her fighting abilities, however."

Genma snorted but Kakashi continued to pretend he wasn't there and pressed on.

"That being said, breaking us up into a four man cell is more difficult than it should be. That is why after today we will be having a fifth member."

The whole team shifted uncomfortably. Kakashi could practically feel the tension radiating off of them. Adding a fifth member was like actively replacing Naruto.

"I know this won't be easy but it is necessary. As you know-"

"Who?"

Kakashi stopped midsentence and looked over at Sakura.

"What?" He wasn't sure he had heard her since she barely spoke above a whisper.

"Who is the fifth member?" Her voice rose but still sounded airy, as if she were out of breath.

"Ah, yes. I was getting to that. Genma." Kakashi motioned towards his counterpart, still hanging off of him.

"Kakashi, he obvious isn't leaving so get over it. Who is it?" Sakura growled, hostility blatantly obvious.

Kakashi cleared his throat and repeated, "Genma."

"Kakashi! I know he-" Sakura's eyes widened in realization as she sputtered, "But you were trying to get him to leave just now!"

"Well, he wasn't supposed to be with us until tomorrow. A fact I made very clear when we last spoke." Kakashi's voice slowly turned into something akin to a growl as his attention shifted from Sakura to Genma.

"Isn't Genma's primary weapon senbon which would make him a distance fighter as well?"

Sai's question brought Kakashi out of his mental checklist of ways to dismember Genma and back to discussion at hand.

"While it is true that Genma's specialty is in long ranged tactics, he is still formidable in close combat. That is, in fact, where he started."

"And your team?" Sai questioned, his voice absent of any real interest. Kakashi was fairly certain he was only asking because it was the polite thing to do; rather, what his books had instructed him was the polite thing to do.

"Disbanded since the war considering half of them died." Genma responded gruffly, his eyes darkening with memories best left buried.

"Well since you are here perhaps we should see how well we all work together." Yamato suggested, speaking for the first time since arriving. It was unapparent whether or not Yamato was actually trying to diffuse the awkward tension that Sai had inadvertently created with his query.

Kakashi nodded, though he wasn't really paying attention anymore. His eyes were unfocused as he looked off into the distance. He thought back to his first lesson with Team 7, the day they had proven themselves to be far more capable then any other genin he had dealt with. They'd been the first team to ever succeed.

Sasuke, the brooding little bastard. Naruto, the overenthusiastic numb nut. Sakura, the whining boy chaser. None of them had seemed all that impressive and yet they had bested him at his own game.

They'd proven their worth; they had shown that with proper guidance they could rival the legendary Sannin. Yet….

Now there was only Sakura.

"Kakashi?"

Sakura's voice, once again, brought him back to the present. Lucky for him he was good at bullshitting.

"Yes, yes. Teams. Sakura with me. Genma with Yamato and Sai. Colored powder for hits. We will be blue. You guys will be red. Ten minutes to set yourselves up."

They all nodded in agreement though Sakura looked uncomfortable. Kakashi surmised it was probably because she was going to be stuck with him. For a moment, he contemplated changing around the groups but quickly dismissed the idea. She would eventually have to work alone with him; it was better for her to get used to it in a non-hostile environment. Plus, they used to be a pretty kick-ass two-man cell.

"Alright. Let's do it!" Genma said, fist pumping the air as he jogged away with Sai and Yamato close behind though not nearly as enthusiastic.

Kakashi turned to look at Sakura and scratched the back of his head.

"Ready to go?" He said nonchalantly.

Sakura bit her lip and swallowed audibly.

"Yeah…"

Kakashi nodded again and turned towards the corpse of trees on the far side of the field that the other three had just disappeared into.

"Knowing those three they will set up a perimeter for detection."

Out of the corner of his eye, Kakashi could see her come up to stand beside him as her lip curled up in the tiniest of smiles.

"So then, let's make sure we aren't detected."

Kakashi laughed. It was a short, curt laugh; more of a 'ha' and exhalation of breathe than a laugh but he knew that Sakura was aware of its significance. Coming from him it was a genuine sign of cheer or at the very least, of wry amusement.

"Yes, let's."

Sakura and Kakashi waited the allotted time and then took off side by side into the trees, carefully bounding from branch to branch, eyes scouring the trees for any tags, explosive or otherwise. Upon reaching what would have made sense as a boundary for the opposing team, Kakashi raised a hand, signaling Sakura to a halt.

She stopped beside him, her hands on her hips.

"Change of plan. How about they come to us."

"Oh? Felling lazier than usual?" Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"Yea. Trip the alarm but wait here. They will expect us to keep going. By us, I mean you."

"Won't they know we are smart enough not to trip it?"

"Well the first ring yes. The second as well. The sixth, probably not. I'm surprised they had the time, honestly."

Sakura nodded in agreement and proceeded to disarm the first five layers under Kakashi's supervision. As they neared the sixth, Sakura wondered out loud, "How'd you know there were six anyway?"

Kakashi feigned hurt and replied, "I'm a ninja after all, Sakura."

She rolled her eyes hard enough that Kakashi briefly wondered if they could get stuck that way.

Kakashi pointed up at a tree just before the sixth trigger point and Sakura nodded again as she took off up the side.

Kakashi dropped a few explosive tags in replacement of the tags they set off and then joined Sakura on the tree branch above.

When he landed, Sakura was sitting with her back against the trunk, her legs swinging back and forth on either side of the thick branch.

Kakashi moved forward a few paces before joining her; he faced her, his hands propping him up as he slouched back.

"Kakashi," Sakura murmured but then stopped.

Kakashi looked over. Sakura seemed weary and her eyes had bags underneath then, purple in hue. He waited a moment before prompting her to continue.

"Yes?"

"It wasn't supposed to be like this." Her voice was soft and neither spoke until her head snapped up, her eyes wide as if she were surprised by her own words. Kakashi surmised that, most likely she hadn't meant to say it out loud. She was infamous for thinking vocally.

"What should it have been?"

"Nothing. Something. I just…I just thought," Sakura bite her lip and breathed in deeply, trying to stay calm, before continuing, "I don't know what I thought, honestly."

"I'm sorry." Kakashi said in response. To be honest, he wasn't sure what else to say and he didn't want to step too far out of character.

"I don't want your 'sorry'." Sakura mumbled, looking off into the trees from where they were expecting the other team to enter.

Silence ensued again for a brief period.

"Yes, but I offer it regardless." Kakashi replied, not looking at Sakura though he knew she was now watching him.

"It's too late," her voice was curt.

"Sakura, can't you just-" Kakashi ground out. Rather, he would've but Sakura attacked him and honestly, he wasn't entirely sure why.

"Shut up!" She swung at him, her fists charged as Kakashi slid back, just barely missing her deathblow.

The tree blew out behind him, shattering like glass as he landed gracefully on the forest floor. Bits of sawdust rained down on him as he looked up at where Sakura sat panting.

She sucked in a deep breath and looked down at him as she rose to her feet on what was left of the branch; the edges stuck out in deadly spikes.

Kakashi summoned chakra into the soles of his feet and ran up the opposite side of the tree. Midway up he summoned a copy, which charged up ahead of him and landed in front of Sakura.

As he predicted, Sakura judgment was clouded and so she attacked the clone without fully assessing the situation. She rushed forward swinging at the copy with all her might. As soon as her fist made contact it vanish into a puff of smoke that surrounded her as she halted misstep, off balance.

Kakashi wasted no time, rushing in before she could regain her composure. He emerged from behind and wrapped his arms around her, one around her shoulders, the other encircling her waist.

Sakura immediately bucked up, swinging her head back as he had taught her to do. Unfortunately for her and very fortunately for him and his nose, he had seen that coming and pivoted hard, throwing them both off balance.

Sakura lost her footing and began to topple forward, her fingernails digging into the mesh of his long sleeved shirt.

He followed her momentum and threw them both off of the tree branch and down to the forest floor. She fought against him the whole way down, but her super strength was sputtering out from her inability to control her emotions.

In a last ditch effort, Sakura grabbed a kunai and slashed at Kakashi, but her movements were impaired and Kakashi quickly grabbed her wrist.

He pushed his thumb down on her inner wrist at the perfect angle to cause her just enough pain so that she dropped the blade.

When they landed Kakashi kept her upright, tightening his grip as she squirmed and kicked and screamed. She even turned her head to the side and bit his triceps as if she thought that would do anything to hasten his release of her.

After a while passed, she stopped fighting and slumped against him, all her energy drained out of her.

He loosened his grip, only slightly, so that his forearm wasn't jammed into her esophagus.

One of her hands went up to grip his arm, her fingernails biting into his skin through the mesh. He knew his arm was bleeding from her biting so it seemed pointless to care about a few claw marks now.

When she spoke her voice was harsh but quiet.

"Let me go."

Kakashi sighed and wondered what he was even doing. He nodded though he knew she couldn't see it and eased up enough for her to slip out.

She quickly darted away, scampering as far away as possible within the limited space and then turned to face him.

Kakashi watched her wearily, ready for her to pounce again.

"Sakura, I-" he began.

"What? What could you possibly say to me that hasn't been said before? Why even bother now Kakashi? You didn't say anything when it would have made sense to. Don't dredge up the past now; you lost your chance. No, you lost your right to. And another thing," venom present in her voice as her eyes bored into him.

"Can't I just? Can't I just what? Can't I just let go? Can't I just move on? Take a look in the fucking mirror _sensei_!"

She wasn't looking at him anymore but he could see that her eyes were sparkling with unshed tears. More so, she was right. What fucking right did he have to tell her how to live her life when he could barely handle his own?

He was trying now, Kami knew he was, but maybe it really was just too little too late.

"Is that it?"

Kakashi blinked and raised an eyebrow as Sakura's eyes met his once more, a fire smoldering within them. The pools of jade seemed to deepen in color to match her dark anger; they shimmered wetly as she tried to blink away the tears.

"Is it?" She demanded again.

"I don't understand, Sakura." Kakashi said with an exasperated sigh. "If you want to know something then just ask it, fully. No half sentences like you're trying to catch me, make me slip up. I'll answer anything if you'll be straight with me."

She snorted and closed her eyes for a second. "Straight with you? When does that ever work where you are concerned?"

He sighed and let his head fall back, looking up at the trees. He didn't bother responding; there was no point. Anything he said would only goad her on further.

After a few minutes of silence, she asked again, this time with context.

"Is that it? Are you just going to give up again? I said it doesn't matter anymore but you're just going to accept it and move on?"

Not for the first time in his life, Kakashi found himself intensely disliking the antics of women. He found more often than not they would say one thing but mean the exact opposite. Here Sakura was beating him over the head with the fact that he hadn't been there when she had needed him and yet when he finally agreed with her, she grew even more inconsolable because of the fact that he wouldn't argue against her irrefutable statement.

"Everyone I cared for is gone. You of all people should understand that." Sakura was now looking up at the sky, which was just barely viewable through the thick canopy of trees. "But," she paused and looked over at him, her eyes now clear of their sadness. If anything they were mirrors, showing him his own failings.

"But, I am not you Kakashi. I am not content with pushing everyone away or with visiting my loved ones graves for advice. I have never been one to accept my fate but that seems to be all I am capable of. I wake up every day and wonder why I am still here. I see myself in the mirror and wonder when all the life I used to have was drained from me and then," her voice grew thick with emotion and she choked, stopping for a moment to slump again a tree behind her. One her legs bent to press into the trunk as she scrubbed a hand across her face.

"Then I remember. And when I remember there is no way to make it stop, no way to make the images cease before they play through to the end, the _very_ end. I lost more than Naruto that day. I lost my hope. "

Sakura chewed on her lower lip hard enough that Kakashi was sure she would draw blood.

She cleared her throat and continued, "What's worse is that I didn't lose it once. No, every time I remember, I relive the suffering, the hopelessness. Everyday, I lose one more part of what I promised! I promised I would never let go of _me_! I failed him."

Kakashi said nothing at first and truthfully there was nothing to be said. The silence that followed was not as before. Both were busy contemplating how to respond to the other's presence, the other's wants, needs.

"You haven't yet. You still owe him your happiness."

"What?" Sakura looked back at him.

"This is probably the opposite of what every grief consoler will tell you. " Kakashi cautioned before continuing, "But you owe Naruto at least trying to be happy. You owe him your life and as such wasting it is disgracing his memory. You say you've failed him but I doubt you've really tried to do otherwise. Saying you can't succeed now is just a self-fulfilling prophecy." Kakashi spoke matter-of-factly. There was neither malice nor sympathy. He spoke from the heart, however.

His words were actions he had failed at doing. To expect it of Sakura was extremely hypocritical and yet for some reason he believed it would work. He believed that she, out of anyone, could do it.

Sakura would not desecrate Naruto's memory and perhaps, even if it wasn't the proper way, she would live a better life because of it.

Their eyes locked together and Kakashi found himself unable to look away. Her bright green eyes held so much, so many conflicting emotions.

All at once, time seemed to still as Sakura pulled herself up straight and Kakashi stepped forward until she was an arms length away from him. His mind emptied of all pervious thought to the point where he couldn't recall why he was in the forest or what had had been fighting with Sakura about.

His eyes slipped down to her lips, slightly parted and red from her constantly biting them. They were so…

A kunai whizzed between them, effectively pulling Kakashi both out of his daze. Without sparing her a second glace, Kakashi swung away and crouched down in a defensive chance.

"So much for a surprise attack huh?" He said more to himself than to Sakura though he knew she heard.

It would've been a lie to say that he was unsurprised by what had just transpired.

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><p>Sai hung back as the rest of his team advanced forward to face Kakashi and Sakura head on.<p>

He had been sent out initially to find out if they had actually breached their multilayer detection system. When he had arrived he witnessed a very discerning variety of emotions in a very brief time span.

Kakashi and Sakura had gone from bickering to Sakura trying to kill Kakashi to what Sai assumed was intimacy in less than 5 minutes.

Sai could not claim to understand much in the way of human emotion but he was fairly certain that any of his books would have called such behavior dysfunctional…

* * *

><p><em><strong>TBC….<strong>_

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><p>Don't forget to review! I realize I let you all down by being gone for so long but maybeeeeeeeee if I get some awesome reviews, I will finish up chapter 6 faster =P<p>

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